Dream Drop Memories
by animechick247
Summary: Master Xehanort is making his return and in order to stop him the worlds need a keyblade master. Is Hikari, Riku and Sora up to the task to become one? Or are they falling right into a trap? Riku/Oc
1. Dark times are upon us

Chapter 1: Dark Times are upon us

 **A/N Hey everyone! Welcome finally to Dream Drop Memories! I'm sure a lot of you were waiting for this story after I finished Memories by Sleep. Sorry it took me forever but I got caught up with life and other stories. But that's not important! What's important is that we get to finally see Hikari in action again! And hopefully we'll find out how Sora, Riku and Hikari can save Lumen and everyone else.**

 **And for those of you wondering why I'm doing Dream Drop Distance instead of Coded is because that storyline was kinda complicated for me to follow and I didn't know how Hikari was gonna work out in that story line. Instead I'll have that game mentioned here and there with this story. So for those of you wanting to see a Coded story, I apologize.**

 **Also who was freaking out when they found out Big Hero 6 is gonna be in Kingdom Hearts 3?! I'm still flipping out! Sora gets to fly on Baymax! Why oh why can't they give us a release date already?!**

 **So without further ado, here's Dream Drop Memories!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts; I just own my oc's.**

 **Enjoy!**

/

A king's life is never easy. When one task is completed, another one makes itself know. Such is the fate that was placed before King Mickey.

After the fall of the Organization, the King found himself with more loose links than he originally thought he had - or rather loose pages. It seemed that the journals Jiminy Cricket used to chronicle Sora and Hikari's journey carried more than just his words- they carried another's. After decoding the clues that the journal left, the King realized that he found a clue that would help him with a task he had going on for a long time...twelve years to be exact.

With this new information in hand, he quickly rushed to his old mentor, Yen Sid to tell him what he had learned.

/

The old wizard looked at the journal Mickey decoded and read the one sentence that started this search.

 **Their hurting will be mended when you return to end it.**

There was no doubt in the wizards mind who those harmed souls were. Even after twelve years it still pained Yen Sid that Xehanort would stoop so low as to destroy four innocent lives for his ambitions.

Terra, Aqua, Ventus and Lumen were four poor innocent children that got caught in Xehanort's webs of darkness and destruction. Each suffered a painful fate and each soul was left in pieces. All this time Mickey and Yen Sid wondered where they were and how they could save them. It seemed now that they had a lead.

"Yen Sid, I think we're finally close to figuring out where Ven's heart is" Mickey said.

Yen Sid rubbed his chin in thought. Ventus's fate was rather complex. While Aqua was trapped within the Realm of Darkness and Terra's soul trapped within the Keyblade Graveyard, Ven's whereabouts were unknown. And of course there was Lumen whose fate was probably the saddest of the four.

"Is that so?" he asked.

"Then that leaves only Terra and Lumen"

Mickey nodded eagerly, knowing that they were getting closer to finding their lost friends.

"Right, we've gotta save all four of them" he said.

"And this one clue that I found in the journal might lead us to them"

He turned to the page that contained the clue to how they would rescue them. Yen Sid looked at the page and felt the air leave his lungs.

 **Her slumbering will cease when you bring her back together.**

Yen Sid closed his eyes gravely. After Terra lost his body to Xehanort, Lumen went after him, hoping to save the man that she loved with all her heart. Sadly, Xehanort got to the best of her and nearly managed to steal her heart. Knowing what he planned to do with it, Lumen shattered her heart into four pieces and had them hidden within four other hearts before she went into a deep slumber.

The whereabouts of her body and heart were a mystery to to Mickey and Yen Sid...that is until now.

"Do you think it's talking about Lumen?" Mickey asked.

Yen Sid nodded as he clasped his fingers together.

"There is no doubt in my mind that tells me it is her" he said.

"It seemed Lumen was very meticulous about her demise. Knowing her fate, she must have made sure that in order to save her we needed to save those three as well"

Mickey tilted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Yen Sid closed his eyes, thinking of the complex situation Lumen put herself through.

"Much like Ventus's situation, in order for him to awaken he must have his heart" He explained.

"In Lumen's case she needs all the pieces of her heart returned to her if she is to ever awaken. Finding those pieces would be complicated if you don't know where they're hiding. However, knowing Lumen, she placed them within the places that need to be found"

Mickey's eyes widen in realization.

"You don't mean-"

Yen Sid nodded.

"Yes, Lumen hid her heart within Terra, Aqua and Ven. She knew they needed to be found so in order to save her we have to save them first"

Mickey started to put the pieces together as his mentor spoke.

"And if we look for Lumen's heart, then that will lead us to Ven's as well!'

Yen Sid nodded. With the way Lumen set this up, they would be killing two birds with one stone.

"Correct. All the hearts are linked to one another. If we find one piece of Lumen's heart it'll lead us to the others"

Mickey's face fell realizing that they didn't have part of Lumen's heart. Without one of the pieces, there was no way for them to find Terra, Aqua and Ven. Just when they got one step closer to saving them, it brought them one step back from making it happen.

"How do we accomplish that when we don't have a piece that will lead us" he asked.

Yen Sid rubbed his beard in thought. That was a problem indeed, however...

"Perhaps that piece has been within our grasp this whole time? Being right under our noses without us ever realizing that it was there" he muttered.

Mickey looked at his mentor in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Yen Sid ignored him, pondering over something else that was bothering him for some time. Back when Xehanort let his plans unfold.

"The question that ponders me is: does Xehanort realize this as well"

Mickey jumped a little at the mention of the evil Keyblade Master. Why would he be involved with this when he was gone?

Xehanort? But his two halves are gone" he insisted.

"There was Ansem, who commanded the heartless...and Xemnas, who commanded the Nobodies. Didn't Sora and Hikari defeat them both?"

Yen Sid nodded.

"Correct, those two met their end" he said.

"However, therein lies exactly our problem. Their destruction now guarantees the original Xehanort's reconstruction"

Mickey paled a little, not liking where this was going.

"How can that be?" he asked.

Yen Sid looked at his pupil gravely. Even though he had learned so much since being an apprentice, there was still much he had to learn.

"Xehanort's heart, once seized by his heartless half, is now free. And his body, which had become his Nobody, has been vanquished" he explained.

"Both halves will now be returned to the whole. In short...this means Master Xehanort will return"

Mickey's heart stopped within his chest. The thought of that mad man returning made him shiver. He made so many people suffer the last time he tried to gain power over Kingdom Hearts.

"And you think...you think that maybe he's gonna try something?" he asked.

Yen Sid nodded, already knowing that Xehanort was up to something despite not physically being there.

"A man like Xehanort will have left many roads open" he said.

"And I'm sure one of those paths lead to finding Lumen's location"

Mickey shook his head. He wasn't able to save those four in the past but he would not let Xehanort find them. And he wasn't alone this time either.

"Well, it doesn't matter what he cooks up!" he said.

"Me, Sora and Hikari, we'll be ready- and Riku too!"

Yen Sid smirked a little thinking of those three. Despite being thrown into this mess, they proved that they could handle it and were willing to keep the worlds safe.

However, that wasn't enough.

"Yes, they are indeed strong. But...not true keyblade Masters, like you" he reasoned.

He looked at his pupil seriously.

"Tell me...would a single one of you suffice if what you faced was not a single one of him?"

Mickey looked at his mentor in confusion. More than one Xehanort?

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Yen Sid ignored him as he stood up. He already had an idea of how to deal with Xehanort and to see if he could find that one piece of Lumen's heart that was within their grasp. It was risky gamble but time was running out.

"Mickey, please summon Sora and Hikari hither. Riku as well" he ordered.

Mickey looked at Yen Sid, wondering why he suddenly wanted them here.

"Of course, but...why?"

Yen Sid looked at him gravely.

"To show us the Mark of Mastery"

/

 **A/N: And there you have it! Things are starting to get into motion now! Not only is Xehanort making his appearance now but it seems Yen Sid is realizing that he knows where that fourth piece of Lumen's heart is lol.**

 **Next time! Sora, Riku and Hikari are given the chance to become true Keyblade Masters!**

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**

 **Ja ne!**


	2. Ready or not, here we come

Chapter 2: Ready or not, here we come

 **A/N: Hey everyone! I'm so glad you're all excited about this story! If I had know you guys were waiting for this one to come out, I would have focused on this instead of Sorceress Wars lol.**

 **So now the time has come where Sora, Riku and Hikari must take the Mark of Mastery Examination. Will they pass with flying colors? Or will it end in epic failure?**

 **And for those of you wondering, I will do Riku's half of the exam as well, just debating if I should make that as a separate story or just have his own chapters in this one (since the story arch was created differently compared to Chain of Memories)**

 **Also, a special thank you to Relena Soulheart for being the first person to review this story! Their prize was getting to pick one of the Dream Eaters that Hikari will have as she takes her exams. But fear not readers! I'll give out 'prizes' for everyone that reviews this story. Next time a lucky reader will get to pick out which of Riku's Dream Eaters he'll have when he takes his exam.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts; I just own my Oc's.**

 **Enjoy!**

/

 _Briag looked on in horror as Even and Ienzo's body's slowly succumbed to the darkness. They were unfortunate to become Xehanort's guinea pigs and were paying a heavy price._

 _The sharpshooter looked at Xehanort in anger. The man clearly didn't care that he just ruined these two lives for the sake of his plans._

 _Such is the way of a cold hearted monster._

 _"Hey! Is this how you wanted it?" he asked._

 _"Xehanort! You wanna fill me in?"_

 _Xehanort just ignored him and summoned his keyblade. It was time for phase two of his plans._

 _"I am" he muttered._

 _Briag gulped and slowly approached his master. He was slowly starting to have second thoughts about helping this guy._

 _"Hey, do you remember now?" he asked._

 _"Wait...did you never lose your memory?"_

 _Xehanort simply looked at Briag for a moment before he plunged his keyblade into his chest. Briag let out a strangled cry before he fell to the ground. Xehanort watched as his heart disappeared, only for the darkness to coat his body as a result of it._

 _"That's not my name. I'm not Xehanort" he said._

 _"My name...is Ansem"_

/

Hikari jumped from her seat when she woke from her sleep. That dream was too intense and made her heart race.

Sora and Riku looked at her worriedly as she slowly regained her breath.

"You okay, Hikari?" Sora asked.

Hikari gave him a weak smile and nodded.

"I'm fine, just a crazy dream" she insisted.

Sora made a face before sitting back in his seat. They were currently on their way to see Yen Sid at the request of the king.

Hikari sighed as she slumped in her seat. The dream she had was not something she made up...it was a memory. And it wasn't just anyones memory; it was Xehanort's. Being a sorceress who would see into the past, Hikari could view a person's memories. Sometimes it was intentional and sometimes they were so strong that they invaded her mind even if she didn't want to see them.

This dream was no exception.

But what really bothered Hikari was that she randomly saw one of Xehanort's memories. If there was one set of memories she wanted to avoid seeing it was his. Even a year after defeating his nobody, she still had the shivers just thinking about him.

She was pulled out of her musings when she felt Riku's hand on her shoulder. The poor boy looked worried as he saw his girlfriend's troubled expression.

"You okay?" he asked.

Hikari smiled weakly.

"I'm fine, just had a bad dream...or rather saw a bad memory"

Riku looked at her sadly before he pulled her close.

"Was it something from your past?" he asked.

Hikari shook her head as she buried her face into his chest.

"Not mine, but rather someone else" she said.

"I think I saw a memory of Xehanort's past"

Riku flinched at the name. After reading the King's letter and having him tell them the reason why they needed to see Yen Sid, it was no wonder why Hikari might have a dream about Xehanort. That evil man scared their hearts with his actions and nearly destroyed their lives. It was one of the reasons why Riku cut his hair short, so he could have a fresh start in life and to cut his ties with the past regarding Xehanort.

Hikari sighed as she looked at the ground. Just thinking about Xehanort returning made her heart ache. He cause her friends and mother so much pain all because he wanted Kingdom Hearts. How many more times would he make others suffer before he got what he wanted?

She as well as Sora and Riku weren't going to let that happen, which is why they accepted the King and Yen Sid's invitation to become Keyblade Masters. She didn't know what these Mark of Mastery Exams would accomplish but she hoped it would help them stop Xehanort once and for all.

"Do you think these exams will really help us stop Xehanort from coming back?" she asked.

Riku looked at her before he shrugged.

"I can't say" he said.

"I don't think taking these exams will prevent his return, but I'm sure they'll give us a better chance at defeating him"

Hikari fiddled with her pendant nervously.

"I'm nervous about this exam. None of us have ever face anything like this before"

Sora looked at her with a hopeful grin.

"What's so nervous about this? We've beaten this guy twice already, I'm sure the third time will be the charm. And think about it! We'll be actual Keyblade Masters!"

Riku nodded reassuringly.

"Sora's right, I'm sure we have nothing to worry about. And if anything bad happens, you'll have a Keyblade Master to protect you"

Hikari smiled softly and cupped Riku's face.

"I don't need a Keyblade Master to protect me. I just need you" she said.

Riku smiled and placed his hands over hers.

"Hey! Don't get all lovey dovey back there! We're almost there!" Donald called out.

Hikari laughed and dropped her hand.

"Sorry, Donald"

She looked out of the Gummi Ship window to see the stars pass by.

 _'Maybe they're right. Maybe I'm just nervous_ ' she thought.

She had hoped so. After fighting two difficult battles already, a Mark of Mastery Exam would have been a walk in the park for her.

However, like everything she faced in the past, there was no such thing as an easy task. This Exam would be just that.

/

The sight of Mysterious Tower was rather surreal for Hikari. She came here to begin her last adventure and she was here now to begin another.

' _At least I won't need a new outfit this time_ ' she thought.

Sora was busy chatting away with Donald and Goofy while they walked up to the tower, which left Hikari and Riku to walk together in the back.

"Too bad my mom couldn't come with us to see us take the exams" Hikari said.

"I heard the King say he wanted her and Tsukiko to go to Disney Castle and help the Queen with something" Riku said.

"And because I'm sure she would want to jump in and help us pass, so it's probably best that she isn't here"

Hikari laughed at that, knowing it was true.

"Guess she'll just have to wait until we pass then"

Everyone nearly made it to the top of the tower when Riku suddenly stopped, grabbing Hikari's arm in the process. Hikari looked at her boyfriend, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Riku?"

Riku looked at her and gave her hand a squeeze.

"You know I won't let anything bad happen to you, right?"

Hikari tilted her head in confusion.

"Huh?"

Riku just gave her a gentle look as he cupped her face.

"I know you're worried about what's happening and how we're going to deal with Xehanort. You've been nervous ever since we got that letter"

Hikari gave him a weak smile, trying to mask her emotions. She was nervous about all of this. Sure, her last two adventures were nerve wrecking-but something about the king's letter put her on edge...almost as if something very bad was about to happen. She really couldn't say anything because she didn't know what she was sensing and because she didn't want to make Sora and Riku nervous. She could tell they were worried as well but refused to show it.

"I'm fine, Riku. I'm just overwhelmed by all of this" she said.

"We just defeated the Organization, only to find out that by doing that it caused Xehanort to return.

She looked at the ground sadly.

"It's like everything we did to keep the worlds safe just had the opposite effect. I just feel like we just made things even worse" she said.

"But if we didn't stop Xemnas and the Organization from taking over Kingdom Hearts, think of how many lives would have been ruined because of them" Riku reasoned.

Hikari looked at him sadly. It seemed he didn't sense the warning signs that she was feeling.

"But...something about these exams just sets off the warning flags in my head" she said.

"I just get this feeling like something really bad is about to happen and I don't know how to prevent it from happening. We're not just going up against the Heartless and Nobodies this time...we're going after the man who started it all"

Hikari's hand shook slightly in fear. She couldn't tell Riku that she kept seeing images of Xehanort wrecking havoc where he went or that he was capable of anything when he set his mind to it.

 _'Like nearly killing me to get to Kingdom Hearts'_

Riku looked at Hikari sadly. He didn't blame her for being nervous about Xehanort when the man pretty much destroyed hers and Taiyouko's lives. A man like Xehanort didn't care about anyone or anything.

"Hey, look at me" he said gently.

He cupped her face and pressed his forehead against hers.

"It's gonna be okay" he said.

"I'm nervous about all of this too and I'm wondering how we're gonna tackle this. But you know what? We're not alone in this. With you, Sora and I together, we'll be able to handle this. And I promise you that I will never let anything bad happen to you. As long as we're together, everything will be alright"

Hikari closed her eyes, basking in the sound of Riku's voice. He was right, she could do this. She traveled to different worlds and protected them from the Heartless, she survived having her heart taken from her, she defeated not only Xehanort's heartless but his Nobody as well. She could do this.

Smiling, she placed her hands over Riku's.

"You're right, we'll be okay. We stopped him before and we can do it again" she said.

" And if we don't do anything now, who will help those four that the King mentioned?"

Riku smiled and kissed her on the lips.

"I love you, and that will never change no matter what"

Hikari blushed a little; she still felt giddy whenever Riku told her that he loved her.

"I love you too. I did travel to different worlds to be with you again" she teased.

Riku chuckled and let go of her face.

He smiled as he offered his hand to her.

"Well the, what are we waiting for? That test won't take itself you know"

Hikari nodded and grabbed his hand.

"Yeah, let's go. Oh and before I forget"

She took off her pendant and placed it on Riku's neck.

"This helped you out a lot on your last journey. I want you to have that help again for this as well"

Riku touched her lucky charm and smiled. He never realized how special it was until a year ago when she gave it to him and that it was the bond that kept them connected.

"I don't know how much help I'll need with this exam but I'll take every bit I can get"

Hikari simply smiled and held his hand. Even if for some reason that they had to be separated by something, they would always find their way back together thanks to that pendant.

With that they climbed up the rest of the steps that would lead them to the next portion of their journey.

/

The three Keyblade Wielders stood before Yen Sid. Knowing that what they were about to face would be no walk in the park, they listened to the wizard's words like they were a sacred vow.

"As a Keyblade Master, Xehanort had a gift like few others" the wizard began.

"But such great minds are often plagued by a single great question. What is the essence of the human heart that weakens us, or empowers us? The answer, he believed, would be found in the 'Keyblade War'. What if the challenges of our past were in fact, a map to the light and darkness that battle within us all?"

Hikari secretly grabbed Riku's hand, knowing all too well what that feeling was like. Seeing Riku nearly succumb to the darkness nearly drove her mad. It was thanks to Sora not giving up on him and her love for him that helped her go forward and save him. It seemed Xehanort was unfortunate to not have someone be there for him when he went too far.

"Xehanort had to know, so he renounced his duties as Master and chose the Seeker's life. Since then, in many a guise, he has clashed with protectors of the light- Keyblade Wielders like yourselves. And mark my words- he will trouble us yet again"

Mickey looked away sadly, thinking of Terra, Aqua, Ven and Lumen. He failed to save them from Xehanort but he would throw his life away if it meant Sora, Riku and Hikari wouldn't have to share a similar fate.

"We must be ready" Yen Side said.

"Which is why you, Sora, Riku and Hikari, are to be 'tested' for the Mark of a true Keyblade Master"

He smirked slightly, seeing the protesting look on Sora's face and the questionable one on Hikari's.

"No doubt you fancy yourselves Masters already, but it takes years of training. Only a true Master can teach you the proper way" he explained.

"The three of you are self-taught Keyblade wielders- an impressive feat. However, the time has come for you to let go of preconceived notions, forget what you know about the Keyblade, and begin your training with a clean slate"

Sora laughed nervously, not liking the idea of starting from scratch. They worked really hard to get where they were now, why did they have to toss that all away?

"But that's a formality, right?" he asked.

"We already proved ourselves. Me, Hikari, the King, and Riku- we can take on anything"

He looked at Riku to support his claim.

"Right, Riku?"

Riku looked at the ground, not liking the attention.

"I don't know" he said.

He summoned his Keyblade which still showed traits of being connected to the darkness.

"I think that in my heart, darkness still has a hold" he said.

"Walking that path changed me. I'm not sure I'm ready to wield a Keyblade. Maybe I do need to be tested"

Hikari looked at him sadly. It seemed that despite his big talk earlier, he was having doubts about this as well. Even after everything they did, he still couldn't forgive himself for the sins he committed.

"Riku..."

She closed her eyes before looking at Yen Sid. It seemed now her mind was made up about the exam. If Riku was going to support her taking the exam, then she would do the same for him.

"Then count me in as well. Put me through the test" she declared.

Sora nodded, feeling eager to take it and prove how strong he became.

"Just watch- me, Riku and Hikari will pass with flying colors!" he declared.

Hikari smiled at Sora's enthusiasm. It was moments such as these that it was needed to calm everyone's nerves.

Yen Sid nodded in acknowledgement.

"Very well then, Sora, Riku, and Hikari. Let your examination begin"

Hikari gripped Sora and Riku's hands when the exam began and everything went black.

 _'Ready or not, here we come'_

/

 **A/N: And they're off! Let's see if Hikari has what it takes to become a full fledged Keyblade Master! And sorry if she seemed really out of character in this chapter. She knows that something big is going to appear soon but she doesn't know how bad it's gonna get. And unlike Sora, she thinks things through and tries to figure out what the big picture is before she charges head on to save the day. She'll be back to herself in the next chapter, I promise lol.**

 **And I hoped you guys liked that little moment between Riku and Hikari lol. Just shows that even though Terra and Lumen are gone, their love is still going strong though them...who knows maybe that's what will help them in the end lol.**

 **Well I hoped you guys liked this chapter! Please review and tell me what you think!**

 **Reviews are like candy, the more you review the better the chapter becomes lol.**

 **Ja ne!**


	3. Traverse Town- Hikari's side

Chapter 3: Traverse Town - Hikari's Side

 **A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry it took me a while but this chapter took forever to write out lol. Not to mention it was kinda tricky since when we first arrive in Traverse Town for the first part of the game, we always jumped back and fourth between Sora and Riku lol.**

 **Anyway, let's get to see which Dream Eaters Hikari will have with her on her journey! And thanks again to Relena Soulheart for picking the Pegaslick as Hikari's Dream Eater lol. I had a few people saying that the Pegaslick was perfect for her so I think I'll stick with it lol.**

 **Oh, and for those of you who followed the Sorceress Wars series that I did earlier, you get to see a little glimpse of it in this chapter lol. I Thought HIkari's outfit from that story was really cute and I wanted to put it to good use. So here's my little treat for you Sorceress Wars fans lol.**

 **And a special thanks to REDROBINS007 for being the first to review chapter 2! They decided which Dream Eater Riku will have on his version of the exam lol.**

 **This chapter's prize is you get to decide which side of the Notre Dame world I get to write first. Do you want to see Hikari's side or Riku's?**

 **Now let's continue on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts; I just own my oc's.**

 **Enjoy!**

/

When Hikari came to, she realized she was laying down on a cobble road. Groaning, she slowly got up, taking in her surroundings. She realized right away that she was in Traverse Town- the very first world she traveled to on her journeys.

"Huh? This is...Traverse Town. Why did I end up here?"

She looked at herself to see she had a new outfit on as well. Instead of her red and black outfit, she now wore a black one piece jumpsuit that was covered by a long maroon sleeveless sweater with black wrist bands and black ankle boots. And to top it off she wore a strange heart shaped broach that clasped her sweater together.

"This must be Yen Sid's magic. I guess he decided I needed a new outfit after all" she said to herself.

When she noticed how unusually quiet it was, she realized she was by herself with no sight of Sora or Riku.

She panicked when she didn't see them. They were with her when the exam began so where were they? Looking around the district, she tried to spot her friend and boyfriend.

"Sora! Riku!"

When she got no response, she sighed and rubbed her head.

 _'Maybe they're in a different section of the town_ ' she thought.

she placed her hands on her hips as she sighed at her predicament.

"I'm not going to find them by just standing here" she said to herself.

"Plus, knowing Sora, he'll get lost in this maze of a town and I'm not sure how well Riku know this place"

With that in mind, she went to go help her poor male keyblade companions.

/

It didn't take Hikari long to realize that Traverse Town was a lot different then she remembered. While the first three districts were the same, she noticed that there were more larger, over the top looking districts.

"Now I know these districts weren't here when I was little" she said.

"If Sora isn't lost in this world then I know I will be"

She kept a watchful eye on her new surroundings- new locations meant new enemies. She hadn't run into any heartless yet since she woke up but she didn't want to take any chances.

As she continued to search for Sora and Riku, she started to grow more worried. Surely she would have ran into them by now, so where were they? She saw someone up ahead and decided to ask around. If looking by herself wasn't working, then asking for help might.

Walking up to the person, she saw it was a little girl talking to a moogle.

"Um, excuse me, but have you seen two boys that go by the names of Sora or Riku?" she asked.

The girl turned to her, then looked up to the sky in thought.

"Umm...Sorry, I'm not sure" she said. "All I know is that my name is Rhyme"

Hikari tilted her head curiously.

"You mean you lost your memory?" she asked.

Rhyme just nodded, acting like it was no big deal. Hikari frowned sadly, knowing Rhyme's pain. Not too long ago she lost her memories or her childhood and it was only thanks to traveling did she regain it back.

"I'm so sorry. I had the same problem when I was younger so I know the feeling" she said.

Rhyme just smiled and waved her off.

"Aw, it's not big deal" she said. "You know what they say-'sometimes memories just need a little help getting out'"

Hikari couldn't help but smile at that. It was reassuring to see Rhyme be so positive about her predicament. That's how she was when she couldn't remember anything.

"That's the spirit. I'm sure you'll remember them in no time" she encouraged.

Rhyme smiled happily.

"I know I will" she said.

"Hey, would you like me to help you find your friends? Maybe that can help me remember something"

Hikari looked concerned. She didn't want to drag a child into something that might be dangerous.

"Are you sure?"

Rhyme nodded.

"I don't mind. Besides, I'm sure your friends are worried about you. I know I would be if I was in their place"

Hikari smiled a little, knowing Rhyme was right. She could already imagine Riku freaking out because he couldn't find her and Sora panicking knowing that if he didn't find her, Riku would kill him.

Offering the little girl her hand, she decided to continue her search with her new friend.

"Alright then, let's go!"

With that, Hikari continued her search with the help of Rhyme.

/

Figuring that they wouldn't be in the larger districts, the girls decided to head back towards the first district and work from there. Hikari found it amusing how Rhyme would ask questions about things, hoping to remember something.

"So how did you end up in Traverse Town?" Rhyme asked.

"I don't think I've ever see you here before"

Hikari laughed nervously, wondering how she could explain to a child that she was taking a teast to see if she could stop a dangerous Keyblade Master that was out for world domination.

"I'm...taking a test" she said lamely.

Rhyme looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"A test?"

Hikari nodded.

"It's to see if I have what it takes to face these difficult challenges I'll face in the future. Right now, I'm not strong enough to face them, so that's why I'm taking this test with my friends, Sora and Riku" she explained.

"But when I woke up on this world, they weren't here with me, so I need to find them to make sure they're ok"

Rhyme mulled this over in her brain for a bit.

"Maybe that's why you can't find them" she said.

"If this is a test to prove your strength, then maybe your friends aren't with you because you need to do this alone. You can't figure out your own strength when there are others with you, you need to do that on your own"

Rhyme's words stabbed Hikari in the heart. She hadn't realized that when Master Yen Sid placed them within the exam, he would separate them all so they could take it themselves.

This was a little nerve wrecking to her. Since she became a Keyblade wielder, she was always with someone be it Sora or Donald and Goofy. She never fought anyone on her own.

"That never occurred to me. How can I take this test all by myself?"

It seemed luck wasn't on her side at that moment when suddenly dark looking animals appeared out of no where.

"Oh no! Dream Eater!" Rhyme cried.

Hikari quickly picked her up and hid her somewhere safe where the Dream Eaters wouldn't get her.

"Stay here until the coast is clear, ok?"

Rhyme nodded and shuffled closer into her hiding spot.

Hikari went back to the group of Dream Eaters, summoning her Keyblade as she did.

"It's the end of the line for you guys...even though you're ridiculously cute"

The Dream Eaters charged at her either way. Fighting by herself, Hikari realized she really needed to improve on her attacking skills. While she was with Sora and the gang, she would rely on magic while Sora did the attacking. Now she found out she needed to focus more on her attacking and less on her magic.

She was able to hold out on her own for quite a bit before a Kooma Panda did a sneak attack and pinned her to the ground. Her Keyblade skid across the ground as the panda sat on her. She groaned as she struggled to get out from underneath the creature.

"Why does something so cute have to weigh so much?" she groaned.

The panda raised it's giant paw to hit her in the face and do some serious damage. Just before it could though, a high pitched shrieking noise filled the air before a yellow ball of fluff zipped through the air and hit the panda.

The Kooma panda flew from the impact, causing Hikari to be free. She didn't waste any time grabbing her keyblade and went to see what saved her from the Dream Eater. Funny enough, it was a little bat creature who was in the middle of swatting at the panda's face with its wings.

Knowing her target was distracted, she attacked the Dream Eater and was satisfied to see it vanish soon after.

Seeing that it was safe again, Rhyme came out of her hiding spot and went over to Hikari.

"You okay?" Hikari asked.

Rhyme nodded, showing she was fine.

"I'm alright. You were pretty cool taking out those Dream Eaters like that"

Hikari just laughed nervously and rubbed her neck.

"Eh, this just showed how rusty I've gotten" she admitted.

"And I did get help from this little guy too"

Upon a better look, Hikari saw that the bat was in fact a Dream Eater as well. Unlike the ones she fought that had red eyes, this one had blue ones.

The little Koomory Bat squeaked and squealed happily as it hovered around Hikari. The sorceress couldn't help but smile, seeing how cute it was.

"So these things are Dream Eaters?" she asked.

Rhyme nodded.

"Yeah, these guys are really helpful against the bad ones" she explained.

"The trick is to control them"

Hikari looked at the Koomory bat flying around her head.

"Control them?"

She suddenly remembered something Yen Sid mentioned about these creatures before the exam started.

/

" _If we are ever to strike down Xehanort, we need the individuals King Mickey spoke of in his letter" Yen Sid said._

 _"We must lead them out of sorrow and slumber, and back to our world. To do so, seven sleeping keyholes must be found and unlocked, and a great power retrieved"_

 _Sora, Riku and Hikari listened intently. They heard all about those four individuals and they wanted to help them out in any way that they could._

 _"As you know, every world is walled off from the next, preventing travel between them" the wizard explained._

 _"In the past, you could bridge these gaps because the walls were broken, or because you could open special lanes with your Keyblades. But your new goals, the 'sleeping keyholes', are harder to reach. You'll recall, in your first journey, that you brought many worlds back from the darkness-but some never returned completely. They still sleep, cut off from all outside channels. Not even the Heartless can enter. But these sleeping worlds are said to have their own manner of darkness"_

 _With that, he summoned up an image of one of the evil Dream Eaters._

 _Hikari squealed when she saw how cute it was, despite it being evil._

 _"Aw! How cute!" she gushed._

 _Riku sighed while Sora rolled his eyes. Despite being a badass of a fighter, Hikari still had her girly moments._

 _"They are called 'Dream Eaters'. and there are two kinds- 'Nightmares', which devour happy dreams- and the benevolent 'Spirits', which consume the Nightmares" Yen Sid said._

 _"So basically we don't have to worry about our hearts being devoured but our dreams instead?" Sora asked._

 _Yen Sid nodded._

 _"In a way, yes. But that isn't their main function. The Dream Eaters will guide you, just as the Heartless once guided you, to the keyholes you seek at the heart of each world"_

/

Hikari studied the spirit Dream Eater that was before her. It seemed that it wanted to help her fight against the Nightmares.

"So these guys will help me out, huh?"

Rhyme nodded.

Hikari looked at the Koomory bat and offered her hand.

"What do you say little guy? Care to join us?"

The bat squealed and flew into her. Hikari laughed when it wrapped its wings around her and nuzzled her face.

"I'll take that as a yes then" she teased.

They bat let go and flew around her happily.

"Wonder if Sora or Riku have one of these critters with them?" she wondered.

"Only way to know is if we find them" Rhyme said.

Hikari nodded. Just because she had to take this exam on her own didn't mean it stopped her from looking for them.

"Right, let's get going"

They continued on with their new little Dream Eater friend to the next district.

/

It seemed that once Hikari gained a Dream Eater, more Nightmares appeared. She didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but it gave her a chance to work on her attacking skills.

"There seems to be no end to these guys" she said.

"But at least your Dream Eater friend is helping" Rhyme pointed out.

Despite being small, the little batt was pretty efficient when it came to attacking its enemies. It would keep the Nightmares distracted long enough for Hikari to strike them down.

"You should probably name it so it'll obey you when you need its help" Rhyme suggested.

Hikari looked at the bat in front of her, wondering what would be the perfect name. She noticed that it was a rather unique looking Dream Eater. While most of their eyes were red or yellow, this one had light blue eyes. And not only that but it's head was a light yellow while its wings were different shades of blue.

The color scheme reminded her of the one person who was precious to her.

"Riki" she said.

She looked at the bat with a sweet smile.

"From now on, I'll call you Riki Bat"

The bat chirped before nuzzling into Hikari's face. Hikari giggled as she cuddled the creature close.

Rhyme smiled at the scene but it soon faded when she sensed someone close. Hikari sensed it too and turned to see a figure wearing an organization coat.

Panicking, she summoned her Keyblade and pushed Rhyme behind her. She didn't know who this mysterious figure was, but now wasn't the time to think that.

"Rhyme, run!" she ordered.

She charged at the mysterious figure when suddenly her body felt heavy. Dropping her keyblade, she held her head when she felt dizzy and her vision going blurry.

"Huh? why...am I...so sleepy?" she slurred.

Her body caved in and collapsed to the ground.

Through her hazy vision, she saw the mysterious figure slowly approach her.

" Sora...Riku..." she said quietly.

The last thing she saw was the mysterious figure reaching her.

/

 _Aqua smiled as she held up four charms that were shaped liked stars before she handed them to her friends._

 _"Wow, Aqua. These are so pretty" Lumen said._

 _"You really have a talent for this"_

 _Aqua smiled as she held hers up._

 _"I made one for all of us" she said._

 _"Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star- shaped fruit...and the fruit represents an unbreakable connection. So long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped liek it, nothing can ever drive you apart. You'll always find your way back to each other"_

 _Lumen looked at her charm in amazement._

 _"Wow, that's a pretty powerful bond" she said._

 _Aqua chuckled._

 _"Technically, I think you're supposed to make them with seashells, but I did the best with what I had" she said._

 _Ven looked at his charm sadly._

 _"So you mean this isn't a real good luck charm?" he asked._

 _Aqua shrugged as she smiled mysteriously._

 _"Well, that's yet to be seen" she said. "But I did work a little magic on it"_

 _"Really, what?" Terra asked._

 _Aqua smiled and held up her charm._

 _"An unbreakable connection" she said._

 _Lumen smiled and held her charm up._

 _"Probably the best kind of magic" she said._

 _The four of them held their charms in their hands and felt the magic flowing through them._

/

Terra, Aqua, Ven, and...Lumen" Hikari mumbled.

She remembered who those were. They were the four individuals that King Mickey and Yen Sid mentioned. They needed to be saved if they were to ever defeat Xehanort.

Groaning, she slowly woke up, trying to figure out why she passed out so suddenly.

That wasn't any of her memories she saw, so whose were they?

"What happened?" she asked herself.

She looked around to see that she was alone. She panicked when she realized this, remembering the mysterious figure and Rhyme.

"Where did he go? Where's Rhyme?...did he capture her?"

She quickly got to her feet and looked around the area.

"I have to find her!"

Riki Bat appeared before her, fluttering around quickly to gain her attention. The bat motioned towards the next district as if wanting Hikari to follow it.

"Riki Bat, do you know where Rhyme is?"

The bat nodded and flew ahead to show her the way. Hikari nodded and followed the bat so she could save their young friend.

"Hang on, Rhyme. I'm coming!"

The bizarre duo ran through the maze that made up Traverse Town to save their young friend.

/

When they made it to the Fifth District, Riki Bat lead Hikari to the giant greenhouse that made the focus point of the district. Running up to the roof, Hikari spotted Rhyme standing near the edge of the greenhouse.

"Rhyme!"

Hikari quickly dashed over across the glass roof, being mindful of how much weight she put into each step.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" she cried.

"Did that man in the black coat do anything to you?"

Rhyme slowly turned around, only to transform into the mysterious figure. Hikari skidded to a stop and summoned her Keyblade.

"You again! What did you do to Rhyme?!"

The mysterious figure lifted up its hands and summoned the Hockomoneky Dream Eater. Hikari backed away at the size of it. They monkey roared, slamming its fists together to show it was ready to fight.

Hikari shook her head in fear.

"There's no way I can defeat this thing on my own" she said to herself.

Now she really wished that she didn't take these exams. She wasn't a strong fighter by herself. The only reason she ever won battles was because she had Sora, Donald and Goofy helping her out.

Without them, she was nothing.

"I can't do this. I can't defeat this thing by myself"

She went to run but stopped when she recalled the memory she saw earlier. Lumen and her friends needed to be saved from the fates Xehanort placed upon them. They had been waiting for so long for someone to save them, never giving up despite their cries falling of deaf ears.

Hikari gripped her Keyblade tightly. Yen Sid had told her that she, Sora and Riku were the only ones who could save them. If they backed out of this exam, then who would save them?

Looking at the Dream Eater, she faced it with determination.

"No. I wont run away" she said as she walked up to it.

"There are a lot of people counting on me to help them. If I run away now, then no one will save them. And I need to save Rhyme from this creep too"

She looked at the mysterious figure and glared.

"Think you can scare me with your big monkey Dream Eater? Sorry but you'll have to try harder than that"

She quickly went into a fighting stance.

"I'm going to show you what happens when you mess with a Keyblade Wielder like me!"

A ball of light started to glow from within Hikari's chest before it sprang forth from her, taking shape into a yellow and white Pegaslick Dream Eater. The horse like creature neighed as it flew towards her. Hikari held her hand out and watched the Dream Eater nuzzle her palm.

"Are you here to help me out?" she asked.

The Pegaslick nodded before looking at the Hockomonkey. Hikari smiled as she went back into her fighting stance.

"Alright, let's do this then"

The Hockomonkey roared once again as it swung it's fist at her. Hikari dodged and looked at her surrounding to get a better idea of how to defeat this thing. They were out in the open with hardly anything around them that she could use to her advantage. Looking down at her feet, she could see through the glass roof that the building was filled with plants and a flowing waterfall.

' _If I can get that thing in there, I might have a higher chance at beating it_ ' She thought.

It was a contained area so that meant the Dream Eater wouldn't be able to move around as much, but at the same time since they were in a tight area that meant the chances of her getting hit were high.

" _I just have to be the first one to attack_ '

Thinking her plan through, she summoned her Dream Eaters to tell them of her idea and what their roles would be. When each creature got their task, she put her plan into motion.

"Alright you guys, let's wrap this up so we can save Rhyme"

She jumped onto the Pegaslick's back and flew over the Hockomoneky's head. Aiming her Keyblade at the glass ceiling, she shot a beam of light out of it, shattering the glass roof. The Hockomoneky fell through and landed in the greenhouse where it was trapped.

Now for phase 2.

"Now, Riki Bat!"

The little bat zipped into the greenhouse, grabbing various vines it could find and wrapping them around the Hockomonkey's wrists. This wouldn't contain it for long, but it would be enough for what Hikari had in mind next.

Flying into the greenhouse, she coated the whole ground with ice, then melting it with a fire spell. The whole area was flooded with water, leaving not a single dry spot. Water splashed everywhere as the Hockomonkey trashed around, but it was too late.

Smiling darkly, Hikari aimed her Keyblade at the water.

"Thunder!"

The whole area was filled with lightning as it danced across the water and hit the Hockomoneky. The Dream Eater let out a strangled roar as it was electrocuted. When the lighting subsided, the Hockomonkey broke down into dream particles.

Hikari sighed with relief as she slumped against the Pegaslick.

"That was a close one" she said.

Riki Bat flew towards them and chirped happily at the fact that they won. Smiling softly, Hikari stroked its fur while she patted the Pegaslick's head.

"Thanks for helping me, you two. This would have turned ugly if you didn't help"

Looking up at the ceiling, she narrowed her eyes. That mysterious figure was still out there. Now that the Dream Eater was gone it was time to take care of her next problem.

Flying out of the greenhouse, she went to see who this person was.

/

Sure enough, Hikari found the Organization member standing near the edge of the greenhouse. Jumping off the Pegaslick, she strode over to him, Keyblade in hand.

"Alright you, shows over. Now tell me what you did with Rhyme?"

The mysterious figure didn't say anything for a moment, but when he did it was bone chilling.

"A Keyblade wielder who can not only see memories but is also one of the princesses of heart. I wonder, just how many more titles do you hold?"

The mysterious figure turned around and pulled back his hood, revealing a boy to be around her age with tan skin and silver hair.

He smiled at her darkly as if thinking about something.

"It's no wonder why she picked you to be her successor" he said.

Hikari narrowed her eyes and went into a fighting stance.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

They mysterious figure smiled darkly.

"I think the question is who are you? Will you make my greatest dreams come true? Or shall you let my nightmares become a reality?"

Never taking his eyes off of her, he opened a dark portal and slowly walked towards it.

"Take care, Hikari. I look forward to seeing you unlock the secrets that sleep deep within your heart"

When the portal closed, Hikari dismissed her Keyblade.

"Just who was that guy?" she wondered.

"Hey seemed familiar...and yet at the same time he wasn't"

She sighed, knowing she had yet another mystery to solve.

Fortunately, she was pulled from her depressed thoughts when she saw two very familiar faces run into the Fifth District.

Gasping, Hikari quickly ran down to the bottom floor of the greenhouse, hoping to catch to Sora and Riku.

/

Hikari's heart was jumping for joy when she saw Sora and Riku. She was afraid that she would actually have to take this exam on her own but it looked like that wasn't the case. They were here and that meant they could pass this exam with flying colors and deal with this mysterious figure.

She smiled as she got closer to them, not caring about the fact that Sora and Riku looked transparent.

"Sora! Riku!"

"Just a moment, Hikari"

Hikari skidded to a stop when a boy with beige hair suddenly appeared before her with Rhyme at his side. At the sight of her, Hikari's attention immediately went to Rhyme instead of her friends.

"Rhyme!"

She flung herself at the girl and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright. I'm so sorry for putting you in danger"

Rhyme just smiled and hugged her in return.

"It's alright, I'm happy that you came to by rescue, but I'm okay. He took me away before that man in the coat could do anything" she said as she gestured to the boy next to her.

Hikari finally took the time to study this new face. There was something off about this boy, but she could tell that his heart was in the right place.

"Thank you...um?"

The boy simply chuckled.

"Pardon me, where are my manners? I'm Joshua"

Hikari nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Thank you for rescuing Rhyme, Joshua. But...how do you know my name? And where did you take Rhyme?"

Joshua wore a mysterious smirk as he tucked a hand into his pocket.

"If you'd like to settle down for a sec, I'll field your questions one at a time" he offered.

Hikari pondered this for a moment. She wanted to catch up to Sora and Riku, but right now her main concern was Rhyme and making sure she was ok.

"Very well, I would appreciate it if you would clear up a few things for me" she said.

Joshua nodded in understanding.

"Let's start with Rhyme" he said.

"I'm hanging on to her dreams for her. They're my portal"

Hikari tilted her head in confusion.

"Portal?"

Joshua rubbed his head, trying to think of a better way at explaining this.

"Let's just say her dreams area a gateway between worlds" he explained.

"Next question- how could I possibly know your name? This town has a little secret. It only appears when someone out there has a need of shelter"

Hikari nodded, finally understanding part of what he was saying. Of course she knew how Traverse Town functioned- she lived her before going to the islands.

"Believe me, I know the functions of this world. I lived here for a tiny bit as a child...although it seemed some areas were added since I was last here"

Joshua shook his head.

"That's where you're wrong. You stayed on the version of this world that is in the realm of in between, while the one you're currently on is one that is made up of my dreams" he clarified.

"That's why I was able to know your name- I dreamed you up. I also know your friends, Sora and Riku"

Hikari's heard leaped, remembering that she saw them close by before Joshua interrupted her. She went to go towards them, only for Joshua to stop her.

"Wait a minute, Hikari. Surely you can tell that they're not here physically"

Hikari looked at Joshua then looked at Sora and Riku. Now that she saw them closer, she could tell right away that they weren't really here. They looked transparent as if they were projected from a screen and were moving about as if they were really there.

She went up to Riku's projection and reach her hand out towards him. Her heart sank when her hand went right through him.

She was so close to him and yet so far away.

' _It's like my last two journeys all over again_ ' she thought sadly.

"If they're not here...then where are they?" she asked.

Joshua walked up to the projections, watching as a scene unfolded before them.

"They're right inside this projection, in another imaging of this world" he explained.

Hikari took a moment to process all of this information Joshua was giving her. If they weren't on the Traverse Town she was on, then they were on a different one.

"So...as in another Traverse Town? Is there anyway I can reach them?"

Joshua shook his head.

"Sad to say, it doesn't work that way" he said.

"You can't travel through another person's dreams. It this projection, you're seeing another chain of events, in another world trapped by the Dream Eaters. As for how the world got split into various pieces...I have a feeling you'll need to ask this guy"

A projection of the mysterious figure appeared before Riku, telling him something that clearly put Riku on edge.

"What is he doing there?" Hikari wondered.

This was proof that this mysterious figure was bad news. If he could cross dreams like it was nothing, who knew what else he could do as well.

' _These exams seem to be taking a turn for the worse. I need to find Sora and Riku before that mysterious figure harms them_ ' she thought.

She looked at Sora and Riku's projections again. They seemed to be okay now but hopefully they could take care of themselves until she found them.

"Sora..."

She looked at Riku's projection and held her hand up as if to reach him again.

"Riku..."

Riku's projection held up his hand too as if he could sense her. The two of their hands touched, showing that despite being far away, they still near one another.

Hikari smiled at the connection.

"Don't worry, Riku. I'll catch up to you and Sora in no time" she said.

"And how do you plan to accomplish that?" Joshua asked.

"You can't cross dreams like that. The only way you can see them is if you woke up"

Hikari looked at him determinedly.

"I have to try at least" she said.

"The bond I share with them is an unbreakable one. No matter where I am, my heart will always lead me to theirs. As long as I keep that in mind, then I'll see them again in this exam"

She smiled at her new Dream Eater friends.

"Besides, I'm sure my new friends will be more than happy to help me out"

The two Dream Eaters chirped and squealed at the idea of going on an adventure.

Hikari sighed as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I was really skeptical about this exam and if I should take it, but I'm glad I did" she said.

"If there are people like that boy in the coat entering the realm of dreams and causing trouble, then I need to stop him. What kind of Keyblade Wielder would I be if I let this happen?"

She held her fist up in determination.

"I'll stop that guy and show Sora and Riku I can take care of myself. They've always protected me in the past and now it's my turn to protect them"

Joshua smirked as he laughed under his breath.

"So this is the Hikari she was talking about" he muttered.

They keyhole to Traverse Town appeared before them. Summoning her Keyblade, Hikari quickly sealed it so the Dream Eaters wouldn't attack it again. One down and many more to go.

"Sora...Riku...hang in there until I reach you, okay?" she said quietly.

She looked at Rhyme and smiled sadly at her.

"I'm sorry that I have to leave but I need to help these other worlds that are trapped within slumber"

Rhyme smiled in understanding.

"It's okay. Just be careful on your travels. And make sure you come back to visit."

Hikari knelt down and pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks for everything" she whispered.

She got up and started walking away. She didn't know if she had what it took to be a Keyblade Master. But what she did know is that the worlds and her friends needed help and she would be the one to save them.

' _I swear I will protect everything_ ' she vowed.

With that vow, HIkari's quest to become a Keyblade Master began.

/

 **A/N: Man that was a long chapter to write! But hopefully it's worth it lol. So Hikari's exam has begun and it's starting to get ugly. What does that mysterious figure want with her?**

 **Looks like Hikari is seeing parts of Lumen's memories. What could that possibly mean and why is she seeing them now?**

 **And does anyone have a guess what the Pegaslick Dream Eater represents? I'm sure you guys can guess who Riki Bat represents right away.**

 **Please review and tell me what you think! reviews = faster updates!**

 **JA ne!**


	4. Traverse Town- Riku's side

Chapter 4: Traverse Town: Riku's Side

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the long delay. Lot of things happened in my family this last past month which is why it's kept me from updating. So as an apology, I thought I would do another long chapter as an early Christmas present for you guys.**

 **Now we get to see Riku's side of Traverse Town and meet his Dream Eaters! I have a feeling you're going to like them and find they'll fit with him perfectly. And a lot of you have been asking I do Riku's side for the next chapter when we visit the Notre Dame world.**

 **So without further ado, here's Riku's side!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, I just own my OC's.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **And Happy New Year!**

/

The first thing Riku realized when he woke up was that he wasn't in Yen Sid's study anymore but rather the Third District of Traverse Town. The second thing he noticed was that his outfit had changed and that he wore a combination of his two previous outfits.

" _What in the world is going on? Why am I in Traverse Town? And why did my outfit change?_ " he thought.

And of course, the most crucial thing he realized was that Sora and Hikari were no where in sight, which meant he was all alone.

"Sora! Hikari! Where are you?" he called out.

Sadly, he go no response from either of the two.

Running a hand through his hair, he tried to process everything that had happened, while trying to keep calm about the fact that his best friend and girlfriend were missing.

"I remember we were in Yen Sid's study...and then everything went black"

He looked around the district, slowly putting the pieces together.

"So...this must be one of the sleeping worlds" he realized.

"So, it's started"

He closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. This was not how he wanted the exams to start. He thought that since the three of them were taking it together, they would be testing together as well.

Looks like Yen Sid had other plans in mind.

"Wow! Where's your portal?"

Riku jumped at the voice and looked around for the owner of it. When he finally found the person, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Sitting on top of the fountain was a boy his age who wore a mysterious smirk on his face.

"It takes something special to jump between places without one" he said.

Riku put his guard up, getting a strange vibe from this boy. What did he mean by portals? And where did he come from?

"Who are you?" he asked.

The boy just smiled, feeling pleased he put Riku on edge.

"My name is Joshua"

Riku ignored the introduction and got to the heart of the matter.

"What do you mean by 'portal'?" he asked.

Joshua tilted his head while raising his eyebrow.

"Are we just skipping past the part where you tell me your name?" he taunted.

Riku sighed in annoyance but complied to be polite. He had a feeling Joshua wouldn't tell him anything until he did so.

"It's Riku"

Joshua smiled and waved his hand mockingly.

"Hello there, Riku" he said satisfied. Now that he was done teasing, he decided to give Riku answers.

"Portals are like gateways that link up our worlds. Apparently, the world you and I are standing in right now-well, there are three copies of it. It's been sort of cut into pieces. Portals are what let folks like us cross between them"

Riku pondered this over, trying to understand what Joshua was saying.

"There are multiple versions of a world?" he reasoned.

Joshua shrugged.

"The world is as many things as people need it to be" he explained.

"The concept that we all live in the same world-that's just in our heads. Surely you knew that?"

When he saw Riku still looked confused, he decided to show him an example.

"Tell you what, Riku. I've got a little errand for you"

Riku spun on his heel and started to walk away. He didn't have time for Joshua's riddles, nor did he care to hear them. He needed to find Sora and Hikari so they could take their Mark of Mastery Exams.

"Sorry. I don't trust you" he said.

And it was true. After everything he went through, he always stayed cautious of new people. There was a handful of people he placed his trust with and this Joshua kid wasn't one of them.

Joshua laughed as he stood up on the fountain.

"Aw, at least hear me out!" he called out.

"I'm looking for a girl named Rhyme. She's the key to the portal. And on the other side, who knows who we'll find? Maybe even your friends?"

That stopped Riku in his tracks. Looking over his shoulder, he wondered how Joshua knew about his best friend and girlfriend.

"You know Sora and Hikari?" he asked.

Joshua wore a mysterious smirk.

"Now I have your attention" he said.

He jumped off the fountain and walked over towards Riku.

"But, unfortunately, I don't know where they are. If they're no in this version of the world, I can only assume they have to be on one of the others. Simple logic"

Riku sighed. He should have known it would have been too easy to find Sora and Hikari. Looking at Joshua, he studied him closely. He didn't really trust the guy but he could tell that he was telling the truth about knowing where Sora and Hikari were.

He knew he would probably regret this later, but he decided to help him. If it meant he could see Hikari again, he wouldn't let this opportunity pass.

"You wanna find Rhyme? You got it" he said.

Joshua nodded and tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Very well then, let's go"

The two left the district in search of Rhyme and in Riku's case Sora and Hikari.

/

Sure enough when they entered the Second District, they were bombarded with Nightmares. Riku took care of them with ease but was surprised they never attacked Joshua. It was as if the Dream Eaters tried to stay away from him as much as possible.

"Joshua, how come they never attack you?" Rike asked when it was safe again.

Joshua looked at him as they continued walking.

"'They' being Dream Eaters?" he asked.

"They won't go after you unless you're a dreamer. Which is funny, because I've got plenty of dreams"

Riku found it odd but didn't say anything.

"But they're definitely attacking me" he said.

"So...you think I'm a dreamer?"

Joshua nodded, acting like it was obvious.

"Every human being is a dreamer. I had a friend once who said he never dreamed of anything, but it turned out that his were the most powerful dreams of all. You sort of remind me of him" he said.

"Why don't we give your dreams shape?"

Riku thought about it and decided to give it a try. Yen Sid said they would help him with this exam so why let that pass?

Closing his eyes, he thought of the strongest dreams he harbored in his heart. His desire to be by Hikari's side and to keep her safe were his biggest dream. His second was having the strength to over come the obstacles he would have to face soon. Both went hand in hand. His desire to protect what was most precious to him and have the help he needed to protect everything he held dear.

The dreams took form and sprang from his heart, taking shape. When Riku opened his eyes, he was greeted to the sight of a red and black Pegaslick and a white, yellow and orange Yoggy Ram.

Riku smiled at them, seeing they symbolized the two people who were precious to him.

Joshua was impressed with Riku's Dream Eaters, but wasn't surprised. He had a strong heart so of course he would have strong Dream Eaters.

"In this world, they take form as Dream Eaters, which can become great allies" he said.

Riku looked at his new comrades, glad that he would have some help with this exam.

"I gotchu now, Joshua!"

The moment was ruined when a punked out looking boy appeared on the upper level of the district and glared at Joshua.

"Once I take you down, yo, me and Ryhme is goin' back where we belong!"

Joshua held the bridge of his nose, clearly not up for this boy's antics.

"Beat. How many times do we have to go over this?" he sighed.

"You've been tricked-by that rogue in the black coat"

That caught Riku's attention right away. There was only one group of people who would wear black coats.

"Black coats? But that's-"

"I'm telling you you've made a friend of our enemy" Joshua chided Beat.

Beat shook his head.

"Just can it, aight?" he snapped.

"Your inverse psychiatry ain't gonna work! Let's go, Dream Eaters!"

he summoned up his Dream Eaters, clearly showing he meant business. Joshua sighed as he shook his head.

"Not again" he groaned.

Riku decided to take matters into his own hands. It was obvious this Beat guy wasn't going to back down and Joshua didn't have any Dream Eaters that could help him fight.

With his new Dream Eaters at his side, he took care of Beat's within minutes, clearly showing that the punk was full of hot air.

Beat just sat on the ground in defeat and pouted.

"You know what? Forget it. This is stale, yo"

Joshua just laughed as he walked up to him.

"Playing the tough guy 24/7? I'd be worn out too" he teased.

Beat placed his head in his hand, clearly bent out of shape about something.

"I just...wanna protect the one person who matters" he said.

Riku felt a tug at his hear when he heard that. His hand went up to Hikari's pendant, giving it a squeeze.

"I know the feeling" he said quietly.

His vision suddenly became blurry as his body swayed unsteadily.

"Why am I suddenly...so sleepy?"

His body gave out while his mind succumbed to slumber. His dreams were filled with warnings Yen Sid told them before the exam began.

/

" _Long ago, in the age of fairy tales, the world was filled with light-a gift, many believed, from an unseen power known as 'Kingdom Hearts'"_

 _Riku and Hikari listened, knowing this story all to well since Taiyouko told them this story many times. The fact that Yen Sid was telling it meant that this was no fairy tale._

 _"You see, Kingdom Hearts was protected by it's counterpart, the 'X-blade', so that none could ever lay a hand on its mysteries" Yen Sid said._

 _"But in time, the world was overrun by legions who wanted the light all for themselves, and the first shadows were cast upon the land. These warriors crafted 'Keyblades' in the image of the original 'X-blade', and waged a great war over Kingdom Hearts. We call this the 'Keyblade War'"_

 _Hikari bit her lip, seeing images of an empty field surrounded by forgotten Keyblades. She could only imagine how many lives were lost in that battle._

 _"Thought the war extinguished all light from the world-"_

 _"The darkness could not reach the light inside the hearts of children" Hikari finished._

 _Her mother told her this story so many times, she remembered each line of it._

 _Yen Sid nodded gravely._

 _"With that light, the world was remade as we know it today, with countless smaller worlds shining like stars in the sky. As for the X-blade, it did not survive the battle. The two elements that created it, one of darkness and one of light shattered into twenty-six pieces; thirteen of light and thirteen for darkness"_

 _Yen Sid closed his eyes, thinking of how Xehanort tried to reforge the X-blade, using Ven as a vessel for it. Just like Lumen, he too was used as a tool for his ambitions._

 _"And as for the source of all light-the one true Kingdom Hearts-it was swallowed by the darkness, never to be seen again. As long as it remains there, even the brightest world will have it's dark corners. After all, light begets darkness, and darkness is drawn to the light. For this reason some decided to use the Keyblade- a weapon designed to conquer the light-to defend the light instead. These are the first heroes of the Keyblade"_

 _Riku squeezed Hikari's hand tightly. He didn't know what to expect after hearing all of this, but he would never let anything happen to Hikari. He almost lost her thanks to Xehanort and he didn't want that to happen again._

/

Riku groaned when he felt something gently nudge his face. Opening his eyes, he saw his Pegaslick Dream Eater hover near him worriedly. Smiling a little he patted its face, showing he was fine.

With some help from the Yoggy Ram Dream Eater, he managed to get back on his feet.

"What happened? Did I fall asleep?" he wondered.

He looked around the area to see Beat and Joshua were gone.

"Where are Joshua and Beat?"

He found it a little unsettling that they just vanished then he blacked out but he had more important things to worry about. He still needed to find Sora and Hikari. Not only that, but find out about this rouge in the black coat. If it was someone from Organization XIII he needed to find out fast. He didn't want anything to happen to Sora or Hikari.

" _I know they can take care of themselves, but I don't want them to get hurt_ " he thought.

He was pulled from this thoughts when he saw a girl running away from a group of Nightmares.

"Hey, do you mind?" she scoffed as they chased her into the First District.

Riku's Pegaslick quickly followed the girl, wanting to help

"Wait, come back here!" Riku called out.

The Yoggy Ram head butted into Riku's back, shoving him towards the First District. It seemed that it too wanted to help out, but it wanted Riku to help as well.

Riku caught on and quickly ran for the district.

"Alright, I'm going, I'm going!" he said.

He was gonna help out anyway, but he found it ironic that his Dream Eaters reacted like the people he cared about.

/

When he reached the First District he found his Pegaslick protecting the girl from the Nightmares. Rushing over to them he joined the fray and helped his Dream Eaters get rid of the Nightmares.

When the Nightmares were gone, the girl slowly approached him.

"Seriously, thanks. I'm Shiki by the way How 'bout you?"

Riku took a step back when Shiki came too close. Ever since Hikari became his girlfriend he made sure he wasn't too close around other females. Maybe it was because he wanted to show he was taken...or because he had a feeling Taiyouko would bite his head off for being closer to other girls while he was dating her daughter.

When Shiki titled her head, waiting for an answer, Riku cleared his throat.

"It's Riku" he finally said.

Shiki smiled and held her cat plush close.

"Thanks, Riku"

Riku nodded and started to walk away.

"Sure" he said, thinking that was it. Apparently, Shiki thought differently. The girl pouted before she ran after him.

"Hey! That's it? you chat up a girl then just say 'sure', and walk off?"

Riku sighed as he hung his head. He had thought Taiyouko would be super annoying when she pouted but Shiki proved him wrong.

"I'm bad at this, sorry" he said.

"Look, it's not safe here. You should go home"

Shiki placed a hand on her hip in annoyance.

"If its dangerous, how can you just leave me here?" she pointed out.

"Aren't you my knight in shining armor? well?"

Riku chuckled a little and held up Hikari's pendant.

"Sorry, I'm already someone's knight and I don't plan to relinquish that title"

Shiki sighed while muttering 'figures' under her breath. She soon perked up and started walking ahead.

"Well, what are we waiting for? The sooner you get me home, the sooner I'll be safe"

Riku sighed as he hung his head again. This was not how he thought his exam was gonna go. Looking at his Dream Eaters, he saw that they were waiting for his command.

"Well? What should we do?"

The Pegaslick made a noise before following after Shiki. Riku looked at the Yoggy Ram and shrugged.

"Guess that answers that question"

With that, Riku found himself being a bodyguard.

/

Walking with Shiki was...interesting. And by interesting, Riku wondered how someone could talk so fast. It seemed that Shiki didn't like silence and decided to chat up a storm to block it.

It made Riku realize how thankful he was that he had King Mickey and Taiyouko as traveling partners. They knew when it was a good time to talk and when they needed a moment to relax.

Shiki looked at Riku when she saw he wasn't saying much and pouted. What was it with guys and talking? Surely this guy had something he enjoyed talking about, right? Smirking slightly, she thought of something that would make him talk.

"So, Riku...do you have a girlfriend?"

Riku nearly tripped over his feet and looked at Shiki. The girl giggled when she saw his face blushing.

"Excuse me?" he managed to say.

"You mentioned before that you were someone else's knight so I figured you had a girlfriend. So do you?"

Riku turned away as he tried to control the blush on his face. Why did he have to act like an idiot when someone mentioned about Hikari?

' _Because you love her, that's why_ ' he thought.

Sighing, he decided to amuse her. If he told her about Hikari, then maybe she would leave him alone.

"Yeah, I have a girlfriend and I'm very much in love with her"

Shiki giggled, finding it amusing that Riku was getting embarrassed.

"She must be very special then" she said.

Riku smiled and held Hikari's pendant.

"You have no idea"

When they made it to the Fifth District, Shiki spotted something up by the greenhouse.

"Over there!" she said as she ran.

Riku panicked a little. She made a big deal about her going off on her own and now she decided to run off.

"Hey! We should stick together!" he called out.

Sure enough he heard Shiki yell out in fear, signaling that she was in trouble.

"Perfect' Riku groaned.

He hurried over to where she went, wondering if she had any common sense.

"You can't expect me to-" he stopped short when he saw that Shiki wasn't around the corner, but rather the rogue in the black coat instead.

Riku felt his blood run cold, realizing that things were about to take an ugly turn.

"How did you get here?" the mysterious figure asked.

Riku glared at him and summoned his Keyblade.

"Who are you?" he ordered.

The mysterious figure ignored him and proceeded to walk towards him.

"By choice or chance?" he taunted.

"You cannot control what you're not aware of. This wake less sleep will be your prison...to wander forever"

Riku gripped his Keyblade tightly. He didn't know what he was talking about but he didn't like the sound of it.

"What do you mean?"

"Riku! Don'chu listen to that punk!" Beat called out.

He ran over with Shiki in tow.

"Shiki's gonna be fine! She told me whassup"

He glared at the mysterious figure and jabbed a finger at his direction.

"Hoodie here set this whole thing up, yo. He promised to send Shiki back to our world, and you was the cost of travel. Yo, this is seriously one half-baked excuse for a mission. Betchu ain't even a reaper"

Riku turned to the mysterious figure and glared at him.

"All right, who are you?"

The mysterious figure lowered his hood, revealing himself. He smiled darkly at Riku as if he knew something.

"I'm the one who shall make your nightmares become a reality"

With that, he summoned the Hockomoneky Dream Eater and sent it into the greenhouse before disappearing himself.

Shiki looked upset, knowing this was al her doing.

"I'm really sorry, Riku" she said.

Riku gave her a sympathetic look. He couldn't be that mad at her. He once used dark measures to get what he wanted; not knowing of the consequences they would bring. She was just lucky no one got hurt.

"It's alright" he said. he looked at Beat seriously.

"Beat, watch her"

Beat smiled as he gave him a thumbs up.

"I gots this, yo!"

Riku nodded before looking at his Dream Eaters.

Alright you two. Let's show this Nightmare who's boss"

He quickly ran inside, hoping that he could take care of this Nightmare before it got out of hand.

/

Seeing the Hockomonkey in such a tight area showed that Riku was going to have a difficult time defeating it. He tried looking for a weak point on the Nightmare and sadly found it was its head. While the rest of the body was protected, the head was left open.

Only problem was how would he get to the head without getting hit?

' _Come on, Riku, think. What's the best way to defeating this thing?_ ' He thought.

Just then, a projection of Hikari ran past him and faced the Hockomonkey.

"Hikari?!"

Hikari didn't seem to hear him since she summoned her keyblade to fight. Riku panicked and ran towards her, fearing that she wouldn't hurt if she faced this thing alone.

"Hikari, don't! This thing is too powerful to face alone! I'll take care of-"

He stopped short when he saw his hand go through Hikari's body. Pulling his hand back, he watched a Hikari's projection ran forward and started fighting the Hockomonkey.

Riku wondered why he was seeing Hikari when she wasn't there. Suddenly he remembered Joshua's words from when he first met him. If Hikari or Sora weren't here then that meant they were in a different version of Traverse Town.

' _So Hikari's here in the greenhouse...but it's within a different Traverse Town_ ' he thought.

So in other words she was fighting this Dream Eater as well. He panicked, thinking she had to fight on her own, but as he saw her projection running around, using the greenhouse to help her fight. Looking around the greenhouse, he started to come up with an idea as well to defeat this Dream Eater.

 _'I don't know if you're trying to give me a hint, Hikari but I'm following your example_ '

Forming a plan, he started to take action. Instead of full on attacking the Hockomonkey, he started running towards the upper level of the greenhouse. The higher he could get, the better aim he would have towards the Dream Eater's head.

He was half way up to the second level when the Hockomonkey slammed it's fist into the walkway, preventing Riku from going further. The Nightmare raised its fist again to crush him, only this time it was blocked by the Yoggy Ram.

The tough spirit blocked it's fist with its horns and pushed the Hockomonkey back with defensive magic. Riku patted the ram's neck in gratitude and looked at the ramp. He tried to figure out how to get up there without having the jump over the huge gap.

"There has to be another way to get around this building"

He got his answer when the Pegaslick dove underneath him so he ended up sitting on it before it flew off into the air. Now being higher up in the building, Riku had a clear shot of getting towards the Dream Eater's head.

Jumping off the Pegaslick, he slammed his Keyblade into the Hockomonkey. The Nightmare dissolved into Dream Particles as it vanished from the area.

Sighing with relief, Riku looked at his Dream Eater companions.

"I owe you two a lot for helping me. I have a feeling this wouldn't have ended well if you guys hadn't stepped in"

The Dream Eaters made various noises, showing their happiness to help.

Riku crossed his arms as he thought of something.

"If we're going to be traveling together, I suppose I should give you guys some names. It'll be weird if I talk to you or if we're in a fight and I need to come up with a battle plan"

He mulled it over for a few seconds but figured out the perfect names that would represent his companions.

"I'll call you Sunny" he said to the Yoggy Ram.

"And your name with be Hika" he told the Pegaslick.

Both Dream Eaters jumped around, happy that they had names finally.

Riku smiled as well, finding their happiness contagious. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hikari's projection leaving the greenhouse. it seemed she finished her battle as well.

"Where are you off to now, Hikari?" He asked himself.

He followed his girlfriend's projection, wondering what was happening in her Twilight Town.

/

Hikari's projection wasn't the only one Riku saw when he left the greenhouse. He saw Sora's as well as Neku's and Rhyme's standing next to her. Shiki and Beat were reacting similar to how Riku did when he first saw Hikari.

"Hey, what is this?" Shiki asked.

Beat groaned in frustration as he looked at Rhyme's projection.

"This is so messed up, man!" He exclaimed. "She's right here in front of me and...I can't reach her!"

He tried reaching for Rhyme, only for his hand to go through her.

Riku felt Beat's pain all too well. To be so close yet so far away from the one that was precious to you was a painful thing. He wasn't with Hikari and yet he was at the same time. It was a connection that would never be broken. As long as someone had that connection, they would always find a way to be together again.

"If your hearts are connected, you'll reach her" he said.

He looked over at Sora and Hikari's projection. It seemed that he wouldn't be able to see them right away with these exams but he hoped that he would see them soon. He was sure that the two of them could handle this exam on their own. They had fought many enemies before so this should be a walk in the park.

Looking at them, he gave them a soft smile.

"You two be careful with this exam. I can't be there to protect you, so you'll have to stay strong...but then again you both have always been strong"

He saw Hikari's projection hold up her hand as if trying to reach him. Even if they were far away from each other, their hearts always brought them back together.

Smiling, he held his hand up, letting it touch Hikari's. Even if she wasn't here, he felt like she was.

"I'll try to get to you one way or another in these exams" he said. "I promised you that I would never let anything happen to you in these exams and I intend to keep that promise. Until I find you please stay safe and be strong"

He looked at Sora's projection. He was sure that his best friend was facing similar obstacles with these exams as well.

"You stay safe as well, Sora. I don't doubt your strength but this a whole different game we're playing now. Who knows what's going to happen in these exams. Until I find you guys, stay out of trouble"

With those parting words, Riku turned to Sunny and Hika.

"Alright guys, let's see what this exams has in store for us"

The trio left the greenhouse, knowing that the Mark of Mastery was in full swing. If beings such as that mysterious figure were roaming the Realm of Dreams, then it was just as Yen Sid feared.

' _I'll make sure these Nightmares won't become a reality_ ' Riku vowed.

Riku's Mark of Mastery had officially begun.

/

 **A/N: And Riku's exam has begun! What lies ahead for Riku as he tries to prove himself that he has what it takes to be a Keyblade Master? And what did the Mysterious Figure mean when he said he would make Riku's nightmares become a reality?**

 **And what did you guys think of Sunny and Hika? I thought they were cute and fitted with Riku well but I want to hear your guys opinion on them. Except crazy antics from this pair of Dream Eaters lol.**

 **Sorry for the long delay but I would love to hear what you thought of this chapter.**

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**

 **JA ne!**


	5. La Cite Des Cloches-Riku's side

Chapter 5: La Cite Des Cloches: Riku's side

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while, been caught up with life and working on other stories lol. But fear not! I did not abandon this story! I've worked too long and hard on this series for me to do that.**

 **So now we're off to traveling worlds! This time we're seeing Riku's side of the exam and he, Sora and Hikari prove they have what it takes to be Keyblade Masters.**

 **So without further ado lets get on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts; I just own my oc's.**

 **Enjoy!**

/

Gripping onto Hika's neck, Riku watched as the Dream Eater flew down to the newest world that was stuck in slumber. Looking at the buildings, he noticed that the town was very old and seemed to be trapped within a different time period. The houses had thatched roofs while the roads were paved with cobble bricks. And the most noticeable site of the town was the giant cathedral that stood in the heart of the town. With it's two massive towers at the front of the building, it wasn't hard to miss.

Riku thought it was a nice piece of architect but he sensed something off about the place.

"Hey Hika, think you can take us to that large building? I wanna check something out"

Hika whinnied before flying over towards the church to see what the commotion was about.

/

"Stop her!"

A young gypsy woman ran away from two men as they chased her in the streets. When she saw that she was cornered she gave them a sly smirk before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Just as that happened, Riku walked towards the scene and saw the gypsy woman secretly ran past him. Riku just shrugged and continued towards the church.

When the smoke died away, the guard that was chasing the gypsy saw Riku and went up to him.

"You there! Have you seen a gypsy woman?"

Riku thought about the woman that ran past him moments ago. He really didn't know what was going on, but he didn't want to interfere. He highly doubted his exam involved arresting people.

"Nope. Sorry" he said.

The guard sighed, figuring that was what he was going to say.

"All right, thanks"

He went back to the judge that was with him in the chase.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir. We've lost her"

The judge growled, not liking that answer.

"Slippery vermin!" He spat.

"I'm beginning to question having summoned you back from the wars, Captain Phoebus"

Phoebus just glared at the judge but followed him back towards the church.

When the coast was clear, the gypsy woman came out of her hiding spot and approached Riku.

"Thank you. You stood up for me" she said.

"I'm Esmeralda"

"Riku. And it's not like I know what a 'gypsy' is" Riku said.

"Why are they chasing you?"

Esmeralda frowned as she looked away.

"Judge Frollo has been hunting us for years" she explained.

"We gypsies are guilty of nothing but loving our freedom, yet Frollo hates whatever he can't control. Now he's even brought in fresh blood to torment us. I'd hate to know what kind of darkness drives that man"

Riku didn't need to think too hard on that.

"I think I can imagine" he admitted.

"Tell me more, was he always like this?"

Esmeralda looked away in disgust.

"I don't give Frollo much thought" she spat.

"But if you'd like, you could try Notre Dame. They say it's a place for answers"

Looking back at the church, it seemed like Riku realized why he wanted to see it. Maybe it would give him clues about this Frollo guy, or maybe it could help him with his test.

' _Either way, hopefully I'll get some sort of answer'_ he thought.

Motioning for Hika and Sunny to follow, the trio headed for the church hoping to get some answers.

/

It was rather dark inside the cathedral. With candles being the only source of light, the whole place gave off an ominous vibe.

Looking around the empty church, Riku tried to look for someone who could give answers.

"Is anybody here?" he called out.

He heard some shuffling as someone peered from behind a column.

"Who…who are you?" someone said.

Riku turned to the source of the noise and walked towards it.

"I'm Riku" he introduced.

The figure shuffled further behind the pillar as Riku grew closer.

"Oh. M-my name is Quasimodo" he said.

"I'm very sorry, but the Archdeacon is away"

"Actually, I'm looking for a man named Frollo" Riku explained.

"Do you know where he is?"

Quasimodo poked his head out a little but made sure he was still hidden.

"My master? He said he had business on the outskirts of the city"

Riku raised an eyebrow. This was the second person he ran into who knew about this Frollo guy. It seemed he was famous on this world.

"You mean you know him?" He asked.

Quasimodo nodded slowly.

"Oh yes, He's…he's very kind. Master Frollo saved my life. He protects me from the outside world"

Riku frowned at Quasimodo's choice of words.

"He 'protects' you from it?" He questioned.

Quasimodo was hesitant for a second but then slowly stepped away from the column he was hiding behind.

"The people out there would be cruel to me" he explained.

"I'm a monster you know"

While his features were quite different from others, Riku didn't see a monster. If anything he saw a person who was being controlled by a monster that feed him horrible lies. And he didn't need to guess who that monster was.

"Is that was Frollo told you?" He asked.

When Quasimodo looked away that was all Riku needed for an answer.

"Trust me, looks can be deceiving" he said.

"A good friend sees you for who you are no matter what face you wear. You should go out there-find some friends who understand you"

Quasimodo shook his head frantically, not liking that idea.

"Oh no. My master forbids it. I'm not to set foot outside" he insisted.

Riku tilted his head, giving the disfigured man a reasonable look.

"Are you sure that's whats stopping you? Because I think something else is holding you back"

Quasimodo turned away, clearly showing he had enough of what Riku had to say. As he slowly walked away, he could hear Riku giving him one last bit of advice.

"Ask your heart, Quasimodo"

With that the bell ringer went upstairs, not wanting to be seen by anyone else.

When he was by himself again, Riku sighed sadly.

"Wish I could follow my own advice" he said to himself.

Hika went up to him and nudged his hand as if to say 'cheer up'. Riku smiled a little and rubbed her muzzle.

"Well, looks like we need to go to the edge of town to meet this Frollo guy" he said.

"Might as well start heading there before he leaves"

The trio left the gloomy church in order to search for this mysterious Frollo.

/

Walking to the edge of town was a quiet experience for Riku. He never saw people walking the streets or came across any nightmares.

Hika huddled next to him as if not liking the quiet atmosphere. Riku gave the dream eater a gentle smile as he patted her neck. It was really ironic how his dream eaters were acting like two of the most important people in his life. Sunny tended to be protective but acted childish at times while Hika was gentle and liked to be close to Riku. Even though he wasn't near Hikari or Taiyouko, at least he had some form of them with him.

When they reached the bridge that connected the outskirts of town to the city, they found out why everything was so quiet.

Flying in the sky was a large Wargoyle Nightmare.

"A Dream Eater! And a big one!

The Wargoyle noticed the trio and started to attack. Riku hid behind a pile of boxes as the nightmare swooped around the bridge.

"Oh, like this is fair" he said sarcastically.

He was at the disadvantage of being on a narrow bridge. He didn't have a lot of room to attack and if he dodged the Nightmare's attacks, then the bridge would be destroyed.

Jumping out of his hiding spot he made a run for it.

"No use- gotta run for it"

He ran as fast as he could off the bridge while the Wargoyle flew off to the outskirts of the city. It seemed it too had business there as well.

Running up to Sunny, he jumped on the ram's back and urged it to run faster.

"Come on! We need to go after it!"

The trio ran down the dirt road as they went after the nightmare, hoping to stop it before it caused any trouble.

/

However trouble was already here as Phoebus aimed his sword at Frollo. The two of them were checking in on the local peasants to see if they had seen Esmeralda and the captain couldn't take it anymore. If the judge planned on harming innocent people for his own ambition, he would not stand for it.

"Stand aside, Captain Phoebus" Frollo ordered.

When the judge went to step forward, Phoebus held his sword higher, showing he would hurt Frollo if he came closer.

"What have these people done wrong?" He demanded.

"I have proof this family gave harbor to gypsies!" Frollo spat. He acted like this was the worse crime to commit.

"That's not a crime! They haven't done anything wrong!" Phoebus insisted.

"I can think of few crimes that are greater" Frollo said.

Before Phoebus could attack, the Wargoyle appeared before them, hovering near the judge.

"What demon is this?" Frollo said shocked.

"Oh, you are mistaken, Captian Phoebus. This is no demon, this is righteous judgment! I have been granted this power so that I may smite all gypsies now and forever!"

Phoebus looked at the judge in horror. Just how far did he plan to make this madness real?

"This is all wrong!" He insisted.

Riku rode up to them and jumped off Sunny to aim his keyblade at Frollo. After seeing how he treated people like Quasimodo and Esmeralda and how he planned to use the Wargoyle, he can to his own conclusion of what kind of man Frollo was.

"He won't listen" he said.

"Once you've fallen that far, there's no coming back"

"How dare you?" Frollo hissed.

"I am a virtuous man. Good and evil shall be made plain…once the gypsies face the fires of judgement!"

Phoebus went to attack them, hoping to put a stop to the judge's plans once and for all. When he was about to strike, the Wargoyle knocked him out of the way.

Frollo laughed wickedly as he and his little companion left to give 'judgement' towards the gypsies.

Riku went up to Phoebus and helped him sit up. While he was an underlined for Frollo, the captain had a good heart and wasn't swayed by the darkness.

"You alright?"

Phoebus groaned but nodded as he stood up.

"Thanks. I gotta tell you, this is embarrassing-having to rely on a kid"

Riku couldn't help but smile as he thought of Taiyouko. When they traveled together, nine times out of ten he was the one helping her. That was just the sort of friendship they had.

"You wouldn't be the first. Sorry" he said.

"You should take it easy. I'll deal with Frollo"

Phoebus seemed hesitant at the idea but couldn't help but agree.

"I'll admit, you look more capable than me right now" he admitted.

"All right, be careful. It looks like that creature is heading for the cathedral"

Riku nodded before jumping back onto Sunny.

"Alright guys, back to the cathedral"

The trio ran back for the bell tower, hoping to stop Frollo from fulfilling his plans.

/

The whole city was up in flames from Frollo's destruction. In order to get rid of all the gypsies, he planned to wipe them out all at once, including the city and the citizens who resided in it.

Riku knew he was fighting against time before this whole city burned to ashes.

When he reached the cathedral he was alarmed to see Quasimodo holding Esmeralda in his arms. Had Frollo gone that far with his 'judgment'?

"Is she going to be alright?"

Esmeralda slowly nodded, trying to fight off the smoke that tried to fill her lungs.

"I'm fine, thanks to Quasimodo"

Riku looked relieved to hear that. Now he could focus on the cause of the danger.

"Quasimodo, where did the creature go?"

The hunchback looked at the cathedral sadly, knowing his master was responsible for this.

"It's…it's up there" he said.

Riku nodded in understanding and took off for the cathedral. Quasimodo looked at the ground for a moment before looking up at Riku determinedly.

"W-wait…wait, I'll go with you!"

This was his master's fault and he felt he needed to fix this. Frollo had wronged him for too long and he wouldn't stand for it anymore.

Riku stopped running and looked at Quasimodo. He could understand that the hunchback intentions were pure but he didn't need to be dragged in this any further. He needed to get far away from Frollo's madness.

"Thanks, but stay with Esmeralda, she needs your help the most right now" he said.

He turned away from them and gave the hunchback one last parting question.

"Quasimodo, did your heart have the answer?"

With the he ran inside the cathedral to stop Frollo once and for all.

/

With the Wargoyle close by, that meant the nightmares were drawn to its power. The whole cathedral was overrun with them and Riku wondered how was going to get rid of them quickly.

Fortunately, some very unlikely allies were near as a trio of living gargoyles went about destroying them,

"Well, I guess…you three got this covered" he joked.

"It was a walk in the park!" Hugo the gargoyle exclaimed.

"How would you know! You don't have any legs" Victor said.

"Yeah, but-aw, gimme a break! It's just a figure of speech!"

"Both of you, pipe down!" Verne the female gargoyle said.

"And get ready! Cause here come some more!"

The trio of little statues went to defend the cathedral which gave Riku the chance to take care of the Wargoyle.

Running up the stone steps, he could feel the power of darkness growing stronger with each step he took.

 _'Frollo's heart is drenched with darkness. It's like its trying to suffocate him_ ' he thought.

He needed to end this fast before it got any worse. Those who were drenched in this much darkness ended up having a terrible fate.

When he finally made it up to the top of the bell tower he saw Frollo standing near the ledge, laughing at the destruction he caused.

"Yes! Let it burn! The flames will consume everything!" He cackled.

"You see? This is the power that had been granted to me!"

Riku glared at the judge darkly. He just about had enough of his so-called ideal of purity.

"All I see is a sad old man with a dark heart" he spat.

Frollo growled as the darkness continued to consume him and eat away at his heart.

"Again, you are wrong! Now you will be judged like the rest!"

In a final act of madness, he threw himself off the bell tower to be eaten by the flames.

"Judgement is mine!" He cried as the flames consumed him.

Riku looked away painfully from the scene. Once again another soul ended tragically because of the darkness.

"Such a pity, but then again he didn't have any potential"

Riku's blood ran cold as he heard that voice. It was a voice he hoped he wouldn't have to hear ever again.

Turning around slowly, he saw the mysterious figure standing with Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness.

"Ansem! Why are you here?!"

"Your best friend is never far" the mysterious figure taunted.

Ansem 'tsked' sadly at the sene before him.

"So sad. The post of yielding to the darkness" he cooked.

Riku growled knowing he was taunting him about almost becoming a puppet. To this day it still made him shiver to think he could have ended up like Ansem or even worse, Xehanort.

"I'm sure you could write a book about that" he spat.

Ansem laughed, knowing he hit a nerve with Riku.

"But I embraced the darkness-and unless you hurry up and learn to do the same, your story will end just like his"

Riku growled and summoned his keyblade.

"I walk the road to dawn!" He declared.

The mysterious figure just scoffed in disgust.

"Still afraid of the dark, I see" he said.

"I wonder how your story is going to end with the path you've decided to take. Will it be happy or tragic"

With that, he opened a dark portal that he and Ansem when through, leaving Riku alone.

Placing a hand over his heart, Riku could feel it beating frantically.

"He thinks I'm afraid of the dark?" He asked himself.

Gripping the fabric of his shirt, he shook his head throwing away the doubts that filled his mind.

"No, not while I have the keyblade. It will guide me to the light and lead me towards my story's happy ending!"

With that he aimed his keyblade at the Wargoyle, ready to show this creature that was he said was true.

The Wargyole used its wings to its advantage. It would fly out of Riku's range of attack and could fly overhead for it's counter attack.

Riku fired off a few spells that he knew but they worked to no avail. It was a reminder that Hikari was more adapt to magic than both Sora and he were.

Changing his battle plan, he moved further into the bell tower where he wasn't out in the open and where the Wargyole didn't have a lot of room to move around. This didn't phase the nightmare since it just slammed it's claws into the building, hoping to smash Riku in the process.

Sunny fended the nightmare off with its defensive magic but it was quickly showing that the ram couldn't hold out for much longer.

Riku dove behind a pillar when a claw slammed into the ground. He needed to end this fast before it destroyed the bell tower. Hika hovered near Riku, waiting for his next command. Since Sunny was busy keeping the Wargoyle at bay, the Pegaslick was focused on keeping Riku safe.

Riku racked his brain with ideas of getting a hit on the nightmare but the only one he could think of was aiming for the head. The only problem was trying to reach it when said creature could fly. Turning to Hika, he figured the Pegaslick would be able to do it since it was the only dream eater here that could fly,

"Hika, think you can fly me up to the nightmare's head?"

The Pegaslick tilted its head in confusion.

"Fly, you know like when you did back in Traverse Town? I need to reach for the creature's head"

Hika looked deep in thought for a moment before doing something unexpected. In a flash of magic, the Pegaslick merged within Riku's heart and caused wings to come out of his back. The boy looked at the wings that just appeared on his body in shock. He didn't realize his Dream Eaters could do that.

"Now what I had in mind but I'll take it"

Using his new found power, he scaled the walls of the cathedral and flew over the Wargoyle's head.

"Now you'll have a taste of judgement!"

Striking the nightmare down, Riku watched as the Wargoyle let out a cry before falling down into the flames where it too was consumed.

Riku looked over the ledge deep in thought. He could have ended up like Frollo if he had stayed with the darkness. He would have lost everything to power. Seeing what could have happened to him made him grateful that his friends and Hikari were able to stop it.

"I won't let history repeat itself. Not as long as I have the Keyblade"

/

With the Wargoyle and Frollo gone, Notre Dame was at peace. The flames of destruction vanished and a new, freer life rose from its ashes.

Quasimodo finally saw that he wasn't a monster and that he had friends who saw him for who he really was.

"Master Frollo-he made me live inside the bell tower, but the real walls were the ones I built around my heart" he admitted.

"You helped me see that, Riku"

Riku looked away shamefully, feeling like he didn't deserve the praise.

"I was…speaking from…personal experience" he said quietly.

Once upon a time he too had walls around his heart. He didn't want to show his friends how weak his heart was or that he was willing to do anything to see other worlds. Even going to far as to side with the darkness.

"I'd say you still keep a lot locked inside" Phoebus said.

"We all do that sometimes" Esmeralda admitted.

"There are just some things we need to keep separate from the world at large, at least until we have time to figure them out"

Riku nodded in agreement.

"I do have a lot of things locked up, and maybe some of them will stay there forever, but…as long as I have friends who understand me and are willing to take the time to help me understand everything…then I have nothing to worry about"

"Then that's all that matters" Esmeralda said.

Riku smiled as he turned to Quasimodo. He wanted to give the hunchback a few words to think on as he began his new life.

"Even if your heart is still hiding behind some walls, you don't have to be afraid. You have friends now who see you for who you really are and will help you become the person you wish to be. You're not a monster, Quasimodo, so let the world see it"

Quasimodo looked at his hands, actually seeing human hands for the first time. Riku was right, he wasn't a monster and it was time for him to show it.

"Thank you, Riku"

Riku just smiled before turning to his dream eaters.

"Alright guys, looks like our work here is done. Now we can just-hey wait…where's Sunny?"

Looking around for the ram, Riku found Sunny near the steps of the cathedral. The poor thing had it's ears back as Hugo the gargoyle tried making a move on her.

"So, I was wondering if you were free by any chance? I thought we could have dinner or something and try to get to know each other"

Growling, Sunny back kicked the statute into the cathedral where Hugo had hearts in his eyes.

"Oh, I like 'em feisty!"

Feeling disturbed, Sunny ran to Riku, where she hid behind him and shivered. Riku couldn't help but laugh at the sight, This had to be the funniest thing he had seen in a long time.

"What's wrong, Sunny? Don't you want to make some friends?"

Sunny glared at him and dug her hoof in the ground in agitation.

"I'm kidding. Now let's head out before he asks you for your number or something"

They bid their new friends goodbye while Hugo shouted 'call me" to Sunny.

As they walked away from the cathedral Riku had a lot of thoughts on his mind. He wondered why Ansem was with that mysterious person and why they were so bent on him joining the darkness. His path was not the same at theirs and he intended to keep it that way.

' _I know the road my heart walks'_ he thought.

He picked up Hikari's and smiled gently as his fingers wrapped around it.

 _'And…I know who I want to share that path with'_

/

 **A/N: I had to do that bit with Hugo, I just had to. I remembered that whole scene with the goat in the film and I couldn't pass that up with Sunny.**

 **So it seems that the mysterious figure is starting to make his move. If he's bringing Ansem in this then you know things are gonna get bad soon. But Riku and the others should be able to handle it…right?**

 **Again I apologize for the long delay but hopefully this made up for the waiting.**

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**

 **Ja ne!**


	6. Fire that illuminates the moon part 1

Chapter 6: Fire that Illuminates the moon part 1.

 **A/N:….So I have no words or excuse for this at all. I could say that life has gotten in the way or that I had writers block that lasted over a year, but then again either one is inexcusable for the long wait. I'm terribly sorry for this wait and for those of you who still follow this story you have my utmost gratitude. I guess I should pull a Square Enix move and just put 'Now in Development' on my stories lol.**

 **However due it me waiting over a year to update this story I'm afraid I've lost the motive to continue with the storyline for this section of the story. That doesn't mean it's being discontinued! Far from it! What that basically means is that instead of following the rest of the story where we see Hikari and Riku continue with their exams, I'm just gonna focus on the 'cutscenes' that featured Yen Sid and such as well as the last half of the game since that contains a lot of important information. I'm sorry for having to do this but I want to get to the main part of the story and I don't want to keeping those of you who waited this long waiting any longer. Maybe once I'm caught up with the rest of this series I'll come back and write about Hikari and Riku's adventures as they complete their mark of mastery exam but until then I hope you guys are ok with this.**

 **But since I'm focusing on the other half of the story that means we'll be reunited with a certain red head and judging by the title I'm sure you know what's gonna happen lol. A long last our second favorite couple in the Trail of Memories series will be reunited. I was super excited when I was getting to this part so hopefully you guys will enjoy it lol.**

 **What has happened between our favorite Nobody couple while Hikari and the others are completing their exam?**

 **Oh and who saw the new Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer that was released yesterday/today? The fact that they don't have the 'Now in Development' sign at the end of the trailer and the fact that there will be another one next month must be a good sign right? (Although they did have the now in development snuck in the middle of the trailer but who's paying attention?). I use hope this means we get a release date soon, if not that a year at least. It's been long enough right?**

 **Anyway let's get on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts; I just own my oc's.**

 **Enjoy!**

/

" _Hey, Axel. You haven't forgotten right?"_

 _Axel looked at Roxas with a Popsicle stick hanging from his mouth._

" _What?"_

 _Roxas smirked as he shook his head._

" _You made a promise" he said._

" _I did?"_

 _Roxas nodded._

" _That you'd always be there…to bring us back"_

 _Axel smiled a little as he remembered that promise._

" _Yeah…best friends forever"_

 _Roxas stared off into the sunset, enjoying the peace that was rarely felt these days._

" _Yep, so you need to look after sis for me since I can't be there for her. She'll probably refuse the help, but I know deep down she needs it"_

 _Axel snorted as he thought of a certain foul mouthed Nobody._

" _Ankoku was always headstrong…even for a Nobody" he admitted._

 _Roxas nodded in agreement. He suddenly turned to his best friend with a bright smile on his face._

" _Yeah…and 'she's' also waiting for you too"_

 _Axel looked at Roxas as if he lost his mind._

" _huh?"_

 _Roxas clasped his shoulder. The scenery slowly growing dark._

" _She's waited for you long enough, don't keep her hanging"_

/

The first thing that came to Axel's mind was that he was resting on a cold floor. Groaning in discomfort, he painfully tried to will himself awake.

"Where…what happened to me?"

The last thing he remembered was fading into darkness after he helped Sora and Hikari make it to Xemnas's strong hold. And with that the memories came pouring out of him.

Memories of the Organization, of Roxas and Ankoku and when he was Lea poured into his head. But the ones that came to the forefront of his mind was of a certain Raven haired beauty who was as alluring and mysterious as the moon.

Someone who Axel cherished deeply and was willing to sacrifice his life for her if it meant she would be safe.

"Tsukiko!"

Springing to his feet, he found himself inside Ansem the Wise's computer lab.

' _How did I end up here?_ " He thought.

Before he could take another step, he panicked when he saw his reflection on one of the labs windows.

Rushing towards the glass, he touched the spot where the markings under his eyes were. Pulling his hand away he saw that they were gone. Another thing he noticed was the sudden beating within his chest . Pressing a hand there, he was shocked to feel a heartbeat.

It seemed that Axel was no longer Axel anymore. He was human again. He was Lea.

"I'm…me again"

He couldn't believe this. He never realized that he would have returned to his normal self after his Nobody had vanished. It had been so long since he had been Lea that it almost felt like a dream.

When he heard noises behind him he was surprised to see that he wasn't the only one who returned to his normal self.

"Dilan, Aeleus, Even, Ienzo…we're people again"

It seemed all those who had suffered from Xehanort's experiment were back to their normal selves…well almost everyone.

"Where are Briag and Isa? They should be here too" he wondered.

He didn't like the gut wrenching feeling his heart was giving him as he thought of those two.

If they weren't here then where were they?

As he looked back at his reflection, he thought of two other individuals that he didn't see. The ones he promised he would be there for.

"Where did Ankoku and Tsukiko go?"

/

" _No matter what happens I will always, always love you"_

A lot can happen to a person in a year. At least that's what Tsukiko thought. Who would have thought that the girl from Twilight Town would go from a girl who fell in love with a Nobody, befriend Roxas and Ankoku to finding out that she was a Nobody with a heart and helped saved the worlds from darkness?

She surely didn't and yet that's what happened.

After Xemnas was defeated, Taiyouko gave her the chance to return to Twilight Town so she could go back to her Norma life

There was no going back to normal after everything she saw. Plus that town held so many precious memories of a certain redhead that she loved. A redhead that no longer existed.

Twilight Town wasn't the same without Axel there. She couldn't watch the sunset without thinking of him or eat a sea salt ice cream bar without thinking about sitting up on the clock tower with him, Roxas and Ankoku.

With a heavy heart, she decided to leave Twilight Town and went to live of Destiny Islands with Hikari and everyone. It wasn't so bad, really. The town they lived in was nice and quaint and the people were friendly. A stark contrast to the bustling world of Twilight Town, but a nice contrast none the less.

Not only that, Taiyouko was kind enough to give Hikari's Nobody, Ankoku a heart so she could exist as her own being. Having the stubborn, sometimes foul mouthed Nobody was a needed distraction.. She had a familiar face with her on the islands and Ankoku kept her distracted from thinking about Axel.

Even after a year, her heart still ached over the loss of her beloved. Not a day went by where she didn't recall how he sacrificed himself so she would be safe from the Organization. a noble sacrifice but a painful one still. She made he was remembered daily by changing a few things about herself. No more was her hair pulled back into a simple ponytail. Now she let her ravenous locks tumble down her back while she styled some of it to flare out a bit to remind her of Axel's over the top spiky hairdo. Her clothes were more warm colored and a tad on the risqué; symbolizing the alluring, tempting way fire tends to do to a person.

Yes, these little changes put her heart at ease for a while. Her heart slowly started to mend and heal over time. Yet like most fragile things, all it took was one poke to shatter the most delicate structures.

The King had sent a letter to them saying that Xehanort was returning and that Sora, Riku and Hikari needed to see Yen Sid about something. Thinking about that madman made all the memories that she buried within her heart come pouring out again.

Memories of Taiyouko suffering, of Roxas having to return to Sora, of Axel…it seemed that Xehanort wouldn't stop until everyone lost someone or something they loved.

Well, she wasn't going to let him harm anyone else she loved. Which was why she found herself at Disney Castle with Taiyouko and Queen Minnie. Since King Mickey took Donald and Goofy with him to bring the three keyblade wielders to Yen Sid, he asked the two of them to protect his wife. It was an honor and a good distraction for her not to think about Xehanort.

Staring out the window that faced the garden, she sighed.

" _When is this madness gonna end?"_

"You ok, there?"

Opening her eyes, she saw Taiyouko approach her. She had to admit, the sorceress was one hell of a woman. Not only was she Hikari's mother, but she was one of the few people who foiled with Xehanort's plans and live to tell the tale. Not only that, she gave her a heart so she didn't have to suffer the same fate as all Nobodies did. Taiyouko was surely one of a kind.

The sorceress tilted her head as she studied her Nobody.

"You're thinking about what's going on again, aren't you?"

Tsukiko snorted as she looked back to the garden.

"Kinda hard not to when the King sends a letter saying Xehanort might come back. I swear that man is like a cockroach; you can never kill him"

Taiyouko laughed weakly as she joined her Nobody by the window.

"That's one way to describe him" she said lamely.

Tsukiko studied her a bit as well. It was a low blow for the sorceress to hear that Xehanort was coming back. Out of all of them, she suffered the most at the hands of that man.

"So how are you holding up? I'm sure this isn't easy for you either"

Taiyouko gripped the window ledge tightly to the point her knuckles turned white.

"How is there an easy way of learning that the man who stole everything from you is returning?" She asked.

"The man who made me loose my baby brother and father, who tried to use my daughter;who know has to fight him, who put my dearest friend into a deep sleep…"

She closed her eyes as she thought of Lumen and how she was nowhere close to saving her.

"It's not easy, but I'm willing myself to make it so"

Tsukiko sighed as she looked ahead, not really paying attention to the scenery.

"Guess this isn't easy for any of us…kinda makes you wonder if those three have what it takes to stop Xehanort"

Taiyouko sighed as she looked at the ground.

"As their companion and mother figure I wanna say they do, but knowing Xehanort I'm wondering if they can" She said.

"I just don't know what to believe in these days"

"I believe in them"

Taiyouko and Tsukiko turned to see Queen Minnie approach them.

"I may have not known them for as long as you have, but I believe that they can stop him" she said.

"From what the King has told me and from what I've seen, those three will be the ones who will save everyone that has suffered at Xehanort's hands. We just need to believe in them and support them as best as we can"

The two women looked at the Queen for a moment before looking at each other. Minnie was right; they had to be strong and show that they were there for Hikari and the others now more than ever. They would have to be the ones who faced him so it was up to them and everyone else to show that they believed in them and would help them no matter what.

"Queen Minnie is right, those three will be able to handle this" Tsukiko said.

"They've stopped him before twice already, this should be a walk in the park"

Taiyouko smiled softly.

"Yes, you're right"

Minnie smiled, glad she was able to fix things on the home front. She may not have had a dangerous task like King Mickey, but she would be damned if she didn't help in some sort of way.

This was everyone's fight now.

Oh yeah, why did the King sent those three to Yen Sid? He never really explained anything only that it was urgent" Tsukiko asked.

Minnie's looked at the ground as she frowned.

"To be honest I'm not really sure" she said.

"All I know is that it had something to do with Jiminy's journals and the message that was in it"

"Message?" Taiyouko asked.

"Yes, apparently there was a hidden note that Jiminy never wrote down. When the King found out and figured out the hidden meaning behind it, he went to Yen Sid claiming it might be a clue to helping someone"

So many thoughts ran through Taiyouko's mind as ideas and theories played out. There was only one person she could think of that needed help more than anyone and she knew this person all too well. Surely this wasn't a coincidence. She wouldn't know unless she saw.

Putting on a fake smile, she looked at Minnie sweetly.

"Is that journal still here by any chance? Perhaps if we looked at it, it might give us a clue on who to help Hikari and the others"

Minnie nodded as she started walking away.

"It's in the King's study, follow me"

The two women followed the Queen.

Tsukiko looked at Taiyouko with narrowed eyes.

"What brought this up all of a sudden?"

Taiyouko looked serious as she stared ahead.

"I need to get to the bottom of something"

When they reached the King's study, Minnie went over to Mickey's desk and picked up the journal.

"Here it is. He found the message near the back of the journal. I don't know what it means but it seemed important to the King"

Taiyouko accepted the journal and flipped through it towards the last page. The sentence she saw made her spine tingle.

 _Her slumber will cease when you bring her back together._

Tsukiko peered over to read the sentence with a raised eyebrow.

"Who's this 'she' that it's talking about?"

"Lumen…it's talking about Lumen" Taiyouko muttered.

"what are you talking about" Tsukiko asked.

Taiyouko ignored her and looked at Minnie urgently.

"I know who this journal is talking about and from what you told me about the King's reaction, he does too! I need to speak with the Kind to see what he knows"

"Oh? Surely you wouldn't mind sharing that information with all of us? It would be rude not to"

Paling at the sound of a familiar voice, the three turned to see none other than Pete and Maleficent appear out of a dark portal.

The dark sorceress smiled evilly at them as Diablo rested on her shoulder.

"Hello, beasties"

/

Back on Radiant Garden, Lea re-entered Ansem's study after scouting the area for Isa and the others.

"Where are they? I've turned this castle upside down" he said to himself.

He saw Ienzo and Aeleus tidying up the study, trying to get it back in order and searching for clues.

"Hey, are the other two still out cold?"

Aeleus nodded as he scanned the bookshelves.

"Dilan and Even are conscious again, but still unstable…they're resting inside"

Lea nodded in understanding.

"Gotcha . Well, I guess I'll give the castle grounds a sweep"

"Don't" Ienzo said.

"If they were back, we would have found them by now. And we don't need the unwanted attention of the town residents at this moment"

"In translation, you don't want your nephew, Leon to know that you're back which would result in your sister knowing and you're not ready to face her after everything that's happened, am I correct?" Lea clarified.

When Ienzo didn't say anything, he knew he hit the nail on the coffin.

Sighing, he walked around the study, trying to find a clue of some sort that would lead him to finding their companions as well as Tsukiko and Ankoku.

"So do ya think they were blasted off to some other world, or what?"

"I highly doubt it" Ienzo said.

"When someone who's lost their heart is re-completed, they should return to the place where it happened. And if that world is unavailable for whatever reason, a refuge is made for them in the realm between-a world called "Traverse Town". They would be sent there, or perhaps-"

Lea quickly cut him off, getting tired of the long explanation.

"No, look, okay-the fact is-we're here. We've be re-completed, right? So they should be here too-plain and simple"

"I agree, it is strange" Ienzo agreed.

Lea sighed in frustration as he looked at the wall containing Ansem's theory to the world of darkness.

"What a drag. Could they have not been re-completed at all?"

Ienzo shrugged as he thought of a theory.

"Well, you see-"

"Ah! Forget it" Lea said as he studied the formula more. An idea came to his mind as he read the inscription for 'Door to Darkness'. He was starting to piece together where Isa and Briag were.

"You know what? I'll bring them back myself"

Ienzo looked at him skeptically, wondering if he had lost his mind.

"How exactly?"

Lea paid him no mind as he wore his usual smirk.

"I always get stuck with the icky jobs" he sighed.

He spun on his heel and walked out of the lab with purpose.

He knew where to find Isa and Briag now, but there was one other person that was more important now that he needed to find.

"Hang on, Tsukiko. I'm coming for you"

/

 **A/N: That's right Lea, you go get your woman! While our lovebirds haven't seen each other yet, they'll be seeing each other soon!**

 **Wasn't it great to see some familiar faces again? We got to see what Taiyouko and Tsukiko were up to during the exam and it looks like their worried about what's to come. And of course Taiyouko would know about Lumen and how to help her, she did hid her body from Xehanort, question is however does anyone else know about Lumen's location?**

 **Next time things get intense as Maleficent holds people hostage as she demands for what she's after. Will anyone be able to rescue our favorite characters?**

 **Until next time! (Which I'll make sure isn't a long wait this time)**

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**

 **Ja ne!**


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